


Klaus and the Dark Slayer

by Buffyworldbuilder



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29197443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buffyworldbuilder/pseuds/Buffyworldbuilder
Summary: This is set after Cami is killed during season 3. A heartbroken Klaus leaves New Orleans after killing all the Strix. He seeks a witch to save Rebekah from a curse that was put on her by the Strix, a vampire group created long ago by Elijah and now led by the first man he ever turned, Tristan.  Tristan’s sister Aurora killed Cami, the human Klaus had grown to love in New Orleans. Eventually, Klaus’ journey leads him to Cleveland where Faith is living, protecting the hellmouth there. For BTVS, this takes place a few years after season 7. Begins with a slight Vampire Diaries crossover.Disclaimer: I do not own any of BTVS, The Originals, or the Vampire Diaries.
Kudos: 9





	1. A Journey Begins

Klaus was covered in his enemies' blood and still he craved more. Seething, he looked at Tristan crying over his sister Aurora's body. Lucian's body lay beside her—Klaus had killed him first. Lucien was the one who brought Cami to Aurora's attention to begin with.

"She took Cami from me. Rebekah is cursed because of her! She deserves a thousand deaths!" Klaus exclaimed angrily.

"She was sick, Niklaus! She loved you!" an anguished Tristan cried, rocking her body.

"Sick she may have been, but she was too selfish to ever understand what love was!" Klaus said coldly. "You allowed your fear of mortality to bring about this sire line war. Now all your soldiers are dead. I want it known that all who come against me and those I love will die," Klaus said.

"Kill me now and be done with it!" Tristan cried.

"I'd rather you suffer your immortal life all alone knowing that anytime you begin to care about anyone or anything I could come along at a moment's notice and snatch it from you," Klaus said, hatred dripping from his every breath.

He turned to leave, nodding to Elijah and Marcel. Marcel was the only Strix allowed to live. Klaus never considered him one since he pretended allegiance to Tristan only to find out what they were up to.

Elijah, though, wasn't about to allow Tristan to live. He walked up to the first vampire he created. "You are such a disappointment," he said with a sigh. Then he reached down and ripped off his head.

Klaus had paused to watch, and he couldn't hold back the smirk. His brother could still surprise him. He went home, washing the blood from his body and donning fresh clothes. A desire to hold his daughter filled him, so he went next door to Hayley's.

Jackson opened the door. "Is it over?" he asked, stepping back to let Klaus in.

"It is. They are all dead. No threat to our lines or to Hope remains," Klaus said. Hayley appeared with Hope in her arms.

"Dadda!" Hope called. Her first word had been that, and Klaus never tired of hearing it. She was his light, his heart—the only thing keeping him from becoming lost in his darkness.

He reached out and took her from Hayley, hugging her. "Daddy's here, sweetheart," he told her.

Hayley looked at him in concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Okay, enough," he said. He kissed his daughter. Then he looked up at Hayley. "I need to leave this city for a while as I am unfit to be around Hope in the state I am in."

Hayley frowned. "Hope lost me for months, Klaus. She doesn't need to lose you, too," Hayley said.

"She'll never lose me," he replied. "I will only be gone a few weeks. I will seek out covens and find someone strong enough to free my sister from her curse."

Hayley nodded. "All right," she said. "Will you call?"

"Yes," Klaus agreed. "Elijah will remain home with Freya, so Hope will be protected."

"Hope is always protected," Hayley said fiercely. Jackson put his arm around her in support.

"I know, little wolf," Klaus said with a half-smile. "Nevertheless, Elijah is the strongest next to me. He would die for you both." He looked at Jackson. "Even you."

Jackson didn't like the reminder that Klaus' brother would give his life for him or his family even though he knew it was true. It was hard to resent a man so devoted to his family even if he was in love with your wife.

He kissed Hope one last time and handed her back to Hayley. "Goodbye, little one. I will return," he said.

"Bye-bye!" Hope said with a grin.

Startled, Klaus looked at Hayley, who looked equally surprised. "When did she learn to say that?" he asked.

Hayley grinned. "Just now," she said. She grabbed Hope's hand and showed her how to wave goodbye.

Klaus hated knowing he might miss other firsts, but he knew he had to leave. He was no good to anyone right now. "Bye-bye, Hope. Daddy loves you," he said, dropping a kiss on her head. His eyes locked with Hayley, who regarded him with concern.

"Be careful," she advised.

Klaus didn't make promises he had no intention of keeping. "I'll return soon," he said, hoping that was true. He forced himself to leave his daughter behind, knowing she was in good hands.

***** _Three Days Later*****_

Klaus spent a few days driving to Florida and killing whenever the mood struck him. There was always some foolish vampire that didn't know who he was. He spoke to a coven in Tallahassee that got him nowhere. Bloody witches were all the same. He was an abomination that no one wanted to help. Frustrated, he decided to find a witch he knew would help and drove to Mystic Falls.

When he entered the town, it was clear something was very wrong. No one was around. The town was utterly empty. He pulled up to the Mystic Grille and got out of his car, disturbed by the lack of noise and movement. New Orleans was so full of life, but Mystic Falls was now a ghost town. The contrast was unsettling.

He wondered what had happened to destroy his old home so thoroughly. It bothered him that Caroline hadn't called him for help. He walked into the Grille, hoping to find someone to explain what was happening.

His sister's former lover, the lone human in the Salvatore's circle of friends was sitting alone at a table. He looked up when Klaus entered, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Klaus!" Matt exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for a witch," Klaus said. "Do want to fill me in on what has happened to this town?"

Matt looked wary and guarded—a hardness about him that Klaus had never seen. "A lot," he said with a sigh.

"How about I pour myself a drink while you fill me in?" Klaus asked.

Matt wasn't sure what compelled him to share so much with the hybrid who'd caused him and his friends so much suffering. However, he was lonely. He was the sole guardian of a town that was devoid of human life. The Mikaelsons, no matter the problem they caused, had never sought to destroy his home as the heretics had.

Klaus listened to Matt's story without interruption. When Matt spoke of vampire witches, Klaus blinked in surprise. His mother would so not approve. However, when Matt shared that Caroline was magically knocked up, he spoke. "Is she okay?" he asked. Caroline was a dream not forgotten. One day their paths would cross again.

"You know Caroline. Nothing fazes her for long. Her mom died last year of cancer, so she's missing her a lot right now," Matt said.

Klaus felt a pang of sympathy. His little golden vampire was going to be a mother. How extraordinary! He was surprised that he felt no resentment or jealousy over the fact. Instead, he felt happy for her. "Those babies will find no better mother," Klaus said.

"I heard that you—that you fathered a child," Matt said, haltingly. "Is that true?"

Klaus nodded. "I have a daughter. It seems my werewolf side did the impossible. Hope will be two in the spring," Klaus said proudly.

"What brings you to town?" Matt asked.

"We had a battle with the sire lines back in New Orleans. The first humans Rebekah, Elijah, and I turned decided to try and put us in a protective custody of sorts," Klaus shared. "We killed them all, of course. But Rebekah has been cursed by one of their tricks, and I need a witch to save my sister."

"Bonnie is at school in Whitmore. She shares a room with Caroline, so you can find her there," Matt said. "I'll call and tell her you're coming."

"What can I do to help you? This town is a tomb," Klaus said.

"You can go to the Salvatores' and kill the insane heretic vampire living there. Stefan and Damon have been trying to kill him, but he is too strong for them," Matt shared.

"Consider it done," Klaus said.

"If we get them to leave, we can begin bringing back our town," Matt said.

Klaus downed his drink. "Are you tired of being weak? I can make you a vampire, so you can be strong enough to protect your town," Klaus offered.

"Thanks, but I don't want to become the thing that's destroyed it to begin with," Matt said firmly.

"Come now, Matt. You have to know that each person is as a vampire the person they are at heart," Klaus told him. "Caroline became the best version of herself, did she not?"

"Caroline is the exception to every rule," Matt said with a smile.

Klaus chuckled. "Very true," he said.

"I'll call Bonnie now," Matt said. He pulled out his phone. "Bon, are you at your dorm?

"No. I'm in my car. Caroline called me. She's at Stefan's. I was unconscious since Nora drained all my magic," Bonnie said.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked her.

"Yea. Just a headache. Caroline needs help with Stefan and Damon. Julian stabbed Damon with that sword that has the phoenix stone on it, so he's trapped in some type of hell. Stefan had some harebrained plan to kidnap Mary Lou to draw out Julian, so Nora got pissed and did the same thing to him," Bonnie said. "I've got to help them, somehow, and I have no idea what to do."

"Klaus is here. Maybe he can help. He'll kill Julian at least," Matt said.

"Really?" Bonnie asked. "We could use something good happening for once. I'll see you guys soon."

"Looks like things are a real mess," Klaus said, shaking his head.

"They really are. I don't think you want to get dragged into the mud with us," Matt said, standing.

"I can handle the mud," Klaus said. "And I relish a good fight." It would be nice to have a distraction that kept him from focusing on what he lost with Cami.

Klaus and Matt arrived at the Salvatores before Bonnie. Caroline met them at the door.

"Klaus!" Caroline said, pleased to see him.

"Hello, love," he said, smiling at her. She was a sight for sore eyes. "You're radiant!"

She looked embarrassed and put her hand to her stomach. "A lot's happened since you left," she said with a smile.

"So I heard," he said. "Congratulations."

Caroline was so scared for Stefan and Damon and worried about being a mother or not being one that having Klaus there was such a relief. He was an immovable force. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. "I'm really glad you're here," she said.

"It's good to see you," he said.

"I filled Klaus in on what he's missed," Matt said.

"It's been crazy. People dying and coming back to life right and left," Caroline said with a grin.

"I've experienced a bit of that myself. My mother figured out how to come back in human form and my father was brought back by a witch after the Other Side collapsed," Klaus shared.

"Seriously?" Caroline asked.

"Some people are even more fun killing the second time," Klaus said smugly.

Matt laughed. "Same old Klaus," he said. At least that hadn't changed.

"So first thing's first. Where's this Julian?" Klaus asked.

"Did someone call my name?" Julian asked, appearing.

"Is this the guy who's squatting in my friend Stefan's house?" Klaus asked.

"That's him," Caroline said, giving the man an angry glare.

Mary Lou and Norma appeared behind him. "Who is this?" Norma asked.

"This is Klaus Mikaelson. Hopefully, he's here to kill you," Caroline said, glaring at the girls.

"I do need a witch, though. I'll let one of them live," Klaus said.

"If you need a witch, you can keep Stefan's old girlfriend Valerie alive. She's one of them. Stefan knocked her up when she was human, and Julian made her miscarry their baby. Stefan never knew," Caroline shared. "He probably won't like it if you kill her."

Klaus nodded, moving before anyone could react. He punched his hand through Julian's chest, pulling out his heart. "One down. Two to go," he said, tossing the heart aside.

The two girls linked hands and tried to bring Klaus to his knees with pain. Klaus just smirked. "Is that the best you got?" he asked. The girls looked scared for the first time. "Which one of them sent Stefan to hell?"

"It was Nora," Caroline said, pointing to the brunette.

Klaus grinned and moved again in a blur, killing the two women, starting with Nora. "There. Problem solved," he said.

Matt just shook his head. "You make that look too easy," he complained.

"Thank you," Caroline said, relieved that one problem was solved.

Bonnie opened the front door and saw the bodies. "You killed them?" she asked, looking up at Klaus.

"It's what I'm good at," Klaus said with a shrug. "I took care of one of your problems. Now I need you to help me with mine."

Bonnie nodded. "Okay, but I need to check on Damon and Stefan first," she said.

Valerie appeared. "You killed them? Now I have no one," she said woefully.

"I guess that's what happens when you surround yourself with psychos," Caroline said, unsympathetic.

Klaus grinned at her. He had missed her and was glad to see age had sharpened, not dulled, her edges. They went into the living room. Damon was on the couch and Stefan the floor. They both appeared dead.

Klaus watched with interest as Bonnie went to Damon's side, upset. Had the oldest Salvatore finally won over the witch?

"Oh, Damon. Not again," Bonnie murmured, stroking his head.

Klaus looked at Matt. "What did I miss?" he asked.

"She and Damon were stuck in a hell purgatory with a psychotic heretic that tortured them for several months," Matt explained. "They bonded. The ass they were trapped with is the one who put a sleeping spell on Elena, tying her life to Bonnie's. When Bonnie dies, Elena will wake up."

Klaus knew how much the vampire loved his brother's former girl, so he couldn't believe that Damon hadn't killed Bonnie immediately. "Things really have changed," he murmured.

"It looks like that freeing the Salvatores is going to take some time," Klaus said. "So how about you help me first?"

Bonnie stood, nodding. "What's going on?" she asked.

Klaus explained what he was needing. "I will consult my grimoires," Bonnie said. She looked at Valerie. "Do you know anything about this type of curse?"

"I know that something like this can only be broken by a very powerful witch," Valerie said.

"We'll figure it out, Klaus," Bonnie assured him.

Klaus grinned. "This is just like old times," he said.

***** _Cleveland Hellmouth*****_

Faith was bored. "That was the lamest world ending attempt yet," she complained to Xander.

"Yea, they do seem to be kind of tame lately," he agreed.

"It's because there's too many slayers fighting. Takes the fun out of it. The odds are always in our favor," Faith said.

"Makes me miss Sunnyhell," Xander said.

Faith's eyes lit up. "Now Sunnydale knew how to keep a gal guessing," she said. "I'm bored and horny. Do you want to take me for a ride?"

"Be there, done that. I still have the whiplash," Xander said with a smirk. Surprisingly, he and Faith had become good friends in the past two years. She still hit on him all the time. More since she and Robin broke up a year ago. However, Xander knew it was mostly just a reflex with her. They'd spent a year in Europe finding their footing, collecting and training slayers. Then the Cleveland hellmouth started acting up, so Giles decided it was Faith's turn to be in charge of one. Technically, Xander was the Watcher in charge of the slayers stationed there. There was a dozen or so besides Faith.

Xander threw his arm across her shoulder. "Cheer up, Faith. Willow is coming back in a few weeks. We have Andrew to torture in the meantime," he said.

"I just wish someone would come to town that wasn't trying to end the world but could give me a good workout!" Faith said with a sigh.

"It's a new year," Xander reminded. "I'm sure someone or something will come along to play with you." He grinned at her.

"I can only hope…" she said.

***** _Chapter End*****_


	2. Klaus and the Dark Slayer

_ *****Two Days Later***** _

Klaus left Mystic Falls after staying to make sure Stefan and his brother were freed from their prison. He still thought of his time with Stefan in Chicago fondly. Not to mention, Mystic Falls held more than one fond memory. He didn't like to see it in such dire straits and was confident his Caroline would put everything to right, eventually. The woman was a born manager, and the men she surrounded herself with were putty in her hands. Now that the fair Elena was taking a permanent nap, there was none to gainsay Caroline. It brought him comfort to know that she was being granted her heart's secret desire. He vowed to keep a better eye on the town and ensure no harm befell her.

Bonnie, for all her gifts, was unable to aid him in his quest to free Rebekah. She did, however, assure him that Cleveland, Ohio had become a vortex of mystical power. Just as New Orleans' ancestral magics drew in witches, werewolves, and Mikaelson vampires, so did this city. Except it drew in other supernaturals and more dangerous creatures. Bonnie said some referred to it as the mouth of hell. She'd laughed when she'd said it, but she assured Klaus that a powerful magical force was in the area. Grateful for his help with the Salvatores, she offered to go with him to smooth the way. Klaus, though, wasn't ready to be so social and declined her invitation. He'd call her if he felt he needed her help. Matt was still fond of Rebekah and asked to be kept informed of her well-being. Klaus agreed and left Mystic Falls before feeling too strong of a desire to beat Damon Salvatore senseless. It seemed that without Elena the man was even more tiresome than normal.

Klaus drove toward Cleveland, enjoying the countryside view. He drove to Pittsburgh, stopping before it got dark. He decided against drive through to Cleveland, preferring to find a hotel and arriving at his destination that was just about two hours away. Before going to sleep, he called Hayley as he did every night.

"May I say goodnight to Hope?" he asked her.

"Of course," she said. "I'll put the phone on speakerphone. She's over here in her crib, playing with that little doll you got her for Christmas—mostly she chews on it."

Klaus smiled at the image. "Do her teeth pain her still?" he asked. He hated when she had begun teething.

"Not much. It's just normal for babies to stick everything in their mouths. It's how they learn Evelyn tells me," Hayley said. "Go ahead, she can hear you."

Klaus spoke to his daughter like he did every night. Telling her how much he missed her and how much he loved her. Then he asked Hayley, "All is well?"

"Yes. The city is preparing for New Year's Eve tomorrow. There's a lot of visitors but not trouble so far. Marcel and Elijah as well as Jackson are keeping an eye on things," she shared.

"That is good," he said.

"Where are you now?" she asked. She'd been surprised that he'd called so regularly. Hope, though, always smiled whenever she heard his voice. She'd look forever and get fussy after the call ended. She didn't quite know why she could hear him and not see him.

"I'm in Pittsburgh. I decided to rest here and drive to Cleveland in the morning so that I'll have an entire day to uncover something," he said.

"Good idea. I hope you find something. Freya's still looking, too," she added.

"I will call you tomorrow," he said.

"Hope misses you, so hurry and get this done," she urged.

"I shall. Goodnight to both of you," Klaus said, hanging up. He went to bed determined to find something to free Rebekah in the morning.

***** _The Next Day*****_

Klaus drove into Cleveland without any real idea how to approach his query. He had a name of a school: Professor X's School for Gifted Girls, which he thought must be a joke. He knew enough about American pulp culture to get the X-Men reference. Klaus couldn't help but wonder if the founders just had a whimsical sense of humor or if the school carried girls with special powers. Could it be a school for witches? Now that was fascinating and unexpected.

He decided to go into the school and get a meeting with the leader—the Professor X. Of course, the person may not exist as the title could just be completely made up. However, it was a good a place as any to start.

The address led him to a place on the edge of the city, surrounded by a massive gate. "These blokes really take the security of the girls seriously," he murmured. Klaus rolled down the window and pushed the intercom.

"Yes?" a female voice asked.

"I would like to speak to whoever is in charge," Klaus said into the microphone.

"Why?" the girl asked.

Klaus blinked, not expecting that. Nor did he expect to be questioned by such a young woman, and he wondered how he should answer. Grinning, he said honestly, "I'm looking for a witch."

"Which one?" the girl asked, surprising him.

Klaus grinned into the place he figured was a camera. "The most powerful one you got," he said.

"If you're looking to destroy the world, we don't do that here," the cheeky girl replied. Klaus heard someone else yell, "Tami! You are not supposed to engage people we don't know! How many times does Xander have to tell you that!"

There was buzzing sound, and the gate opened. "You can come in if you're not evil," the girl said.

A surprised laughed escaped Klaus; he didn't know what to think. The school was obviously run by mad children. He slowly drove his car through the gate and a wave of nausea hit him. His insides felt like they were about to explode. "What the hell?" he said. Then he realized that if witches were in the school they'd put some type of protection barrier on it. It was probably meant to detour anyone dangerous or supernatural. The girl told him that he could come in if he wasn't evil. Being judged by someone or something he didn't know enraged him. However, he wasn't about to be knocked off course by young school girls. He pushed the gas pedal, propelling the car through the gate.

Fortunately, the pressure and sickness eased off as soon he completely crossed the threshold. For the first time, Klaus was hopeful that he'd find a witch strong enough to help his sister. This level of protection spell wasn't done by an amateur.

He drove up a long driveway. A very large building that looked more like an old hospital than a school sat at the end. A few smaller buildings were scattered around. However, Klaus figured the person he'd need to speak with would be in the largest building, so that's where he went.

A very tall and attractive African American greeted him. "Hello, may I help you?" he asked. He had a goatee and was seething with repressed energy.

"Are you in charge?" Klaus asked.

The man held out his hand. "I am Robin Wood, the principal," he introduced, giving Klaus a warm smile.

Klaus took his hand. "Klaus Mikaelson," he said, returning his smile. "No Professor X?"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Xander is one of the professors here and best friends with the founder. He convinced her to let him name the school," Robin said.

"How could we pass up the chance to honor the great Professor Xavier?" another voice said. Klaus looked and saw a much smaller younger guy in a suit and bow tie.

"He is a _fictional_ character, Andrew. You do not name buildings after imaginary people!" Robin Wood exclaimed in annoyance. Klaus got the feeling this was an old argument.

"Lucky for us, Xander is very real," Andrew said smugly. He glanced curiously at Klaus. "Is this a new potential Watcher? How come Giles didn't call me? I'm supposed to know about all new arrivals! Buffy says I'm in charge of the Watchers!"

"Uh, no, you're not," another male voice said. Klaus looked at him with interest. This man actually sported a black leather jacket and an eye patch. He was much more casual than the principal and sported a mocking grin. "What Buffy said was, 'Xander, keep Robin from killing Andrew as he helps you with the watchers.' I'm in charge. _You_ help _me_."

"Mr. Mikaelson, this is Xander Harris, one of our professors," Robin said.

"The Professor X, I presume?" Klaus asked with a grin.

Xander just smiled back, unashamed. "What can I say? Since I lost my eye, my ladies have trouble saying no to me!" he shared.

"Willow loved the idea," Andrew reminded them.

"Gentleman, our guest did not come to hear about our silly dramas," Robin chided. He looked at Klaus. "Forgive their poor manners."

"We were raised on a hellmouth. What do you expect?" Xander said with a grin.

"A hellmouth?" Klaus asked curiously.

"It's our pet name for Sunnydale, California. It was more like Sunnyhell. Lots of crime and death. Eventually, God did the world a favor and swallowed it up in a giant earthquake," Xander said. "So you're not a new Watcher?"

Klaus shook his head. "I'm not sure what that is," he said. "Watcher of what?"

"Let's go into my office," Robin said, interrupting. Conversations with Buffy's friends always took over any group setting. The man was a stranger, and they had no understanding of decorum. He told Andrew, "Will you make sure that Faith doesn't push the girls too hard? They all had a late night."

Andrew looked scared. "You want _me_ to try and reign in Faith? I value my unbruised and unbroken body!" he said dramatically.

"I didn't say for you to try to stop anything," Robin said impatiently. "Just come get me if the girls seem too weary." They'd been up late stopping an apocalypse.

After Andrew left, Robin turned his penetrating gaze to Klaus. "So what can we do for you, sir?" he asked.

"As I said at the gate, I'm in need of a witch," Klaus said.

"And what makes you think we would know anything about witches or witchcraft?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A witch friend in another state told me that you might. She said Cleveland was a vortex of some type of magical power that attracted a lot of bad element," Klaus said.

"Yep, we traded one hellmouth for another," Xander said with a sardonic smile.

"So this place really _is_ the mouth of hell?" Klaus asked. He'd heard rumors of such things but had dismissed them as exaggerations or excuses to explain crime waves.

When Xander started to answer, Robin cut him off. "Look, we don't know you. We don't know why you need a witch. Until you tell us more about yourself, we won't be revealing anymore about this school."

"So it is a school?" Klaus asked curiously. Never in his many years had he come across a school with leaders like this. The principal carried himself as the leader, but Professor X seemed to not respect his authority as one would expect.

"It was once a hospital for the criminally insane. We converted it a few years ago," Robin said. "So where are you from?"

"New Orleans most recently. My family originates from Norway, but I was born here. A life abroad, though, gave me my current accent," Klaus said easily.

"When the girls hear it, they'll go nuts," Xander said with a grin. "Are you single?"

"Excuse me?" Klaus asked.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Xander asked. When Klaus' eyes grew dark and somber, he winced, sensing the man's pain. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry."

"It is alright," Klaus said. "I just lost someone I cared deeply for, and now my sister has been cursed. I really hope someone here can help me."

"What kind of curse?" Xander asked.

"It was put on a dagger. She was stabbed with it and does not die. It's like she's a sleep, but the sleep is one of torment. She suffers greatly. It's apparent for anyone to see," Klaus explained.

Xander and Robin both looked at him thoughtfully. Robin sensed there was more to this man than his easy manner implied. Used to being surrounded by powerful people and raised by one, he knew when a person had power. This man had ample. Robin wasn't quick to offer more power to an unknown player.

"We might know someone who could help," Xander said. "I can make a call."

Klaus found it was interesting that the teacher didn't defer to the principal. Just exactly who was in charge here?

"You know Faith has to approve that," Robin said.

"Faith isn't the boss of me," Xander insisted. Then he looked sheepish. "Except when she is."

"Who is Faith?" Klaus asked.

"She's in charge of our self-dense classes," Robin said easily.

Why would someone in charge of self-defense be the boss of any adults? Klaus was finding this group of people more and more intriguing.

"Why don't I take Klaus to meet Faith and explain the situation?" Xander suggested.

"Fine," Robin said. "Keep me in the loop. Tell Faith to ease up today."

"You know they're not built that way," Xander chided.

"Try," Robin ordered.

Xander got to his feet and Klaus followed. "Let's go," Xander said, beckoning him to follow him.

Klaus followed the professor out of the room, leading them down the hall. Then a question occurred to him. "So what exactly are you the professor of?" he asked the man.

Xander stopped in front of some double doors. He laughed and turned to Klaus. "That is not as easy question to answer as you'd think," he said. Then he opened the doors.

Klaus peered into the room and was astonished. He saw about two dozen young girls in various ages engaged in hand to hand combat like he'd never seen.

What the hell kind of school was this?

***** _Chapter End*****_

_ I hadn't planned on the Professor X stuff, but I found it entirely too amusing. I hope you did, too! Your reviews are so appreciated! Thanks!  _

_ Next Chapter: Klaus meets Faith _


	3. Surprises

_ ******Where We Left Off****** _

Klaus followed Xander into the gym where the teenagers were sparring. The girls ranged in age and size, but they all had this feral intensity that he'd never seen on ones so young. Davina may have come close to them, but the ferocity of the battle each was engaged in showed passion he'd never witnessed in the New Orleans' witch.

His attention was caught by a woman yelling at one of the students. He turned and was riveted—she was gorgeous. Although he normally preferred blondes, she oozed sexual energy like few women could ever master. Even as she barked orders and corrected one girl's stance, he was captivated.

"Who is that?" Klaus asked, unable to help himself. Then an image of Cami filled him, and he felt a flash of guilt. She was barely cold in her coffin, and he already admired some stranger. He would've never been worthy of such a one. Sighing, he pushed thoughts of his lost love aside.

"That is Faith," Xander said, giving him a knowing smirk. "Brace yourself," he said as Faith noticed them. She walked toward them.

Klaus decided it was a saunter, not a walk that she used to approach them. She flashed Klaus a look that stripped him bare. It was possibly the most carnal look a woman had ever given him. In spite of himself, he grinned.

"So who's Dimples?" Faith asked, curious.

"Faith, this is Klaus Mikaelson. He came here looking for a witch to help his cursed sister," Xander said.

"Cool," Faith said with a nod. "Gonna call Red?"

"Yeah," Xander said.

Klaus blinked. The woman didn't seem either surprised or curious about Klaus' need. "Who is Red?" he asked.

"Willow. My best friend," Xander supplied. "Also, the one responsible for all these slayers."

Klaus' eyes widened in surprise. "A slayer? This is a school for vampire slayers?" he asked in alarm.

Xander grinned. "Yep. Our friend Buffy was the only one. Then she died for a few minutes when she was sixteen. I saved her and that created a second line. That's how Faith became one. Then a few years ago, the First Evil was killing off all the potential slayers, so Willow did a spell that activated all potential slayers. We train them here," he explained.

Klaus' mind raced as several things became clear. These people would kill him if they knew what he was. Sure, he was unkillable, but did he need people with this type of power to target him? On the other hand, people with this type of power would make powerful allies. A witch would could create her own army would be an incredible asset. Klaus gave his new one-eyed friend—he'd make him his best friend—a wide grin. "I'm impressed," he said.

"So what are you?" Faith asked him, catching him off guard.

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"I can sense you're not completely human," Faith told him, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm a type of werewolf," he explained.

"You got bit?" Xander asked. "We have a friend named Oz who became one because he was bit."

Klaus decided to give them some version of the truth. "No, I was born one. The gene isn't activated, though, unless you take an innocent life. My mother was witch, and she put a curse on me so that I could never turn," he explained. "A few years ago, I broke the curse, so that I can turn if I want."

Both of them were staring at Klaus in surprise. Xander shook his head. "Giles is going to die. He thinks he knows everything! How did he not know that werewolves could be a gene and not a virus?" Xander asked.

"Why would you want to be werewolf?" Faith asked.

"Why would I want to be a supernatural creature with increased strength, stamina, and healing?" Klaus asked pointedly.

Faith chuckled. "Good point," she acknowledged. "So if you need a witch so badly, why doesn't your mom help? She sounds pretty powerful."

"Well, until I heard about your friend, she was the most powerful witch I'd ever known. But she's dead and can't help me," Klaus said.

"Oh. Sorry," Faith said sheepishly.

"It's okay. She's been gone a long time," Klaus said easily. "Not sure she'd help, though, if she was alive. I was always the black sheep of my family, and my baby sister is very loyal to me."

Faith snickered. "Me, too," she said.

"My family only has black sheep," Xander said. "Drunk and stupid sheep."

"Aren't those the best kind?" Faith teased.

"My oldest sister is also a witch, but Freya hasn't had any luck so far," Klaus shared.

"Faith, can we go eat lunch now?" one of the girls asked, interrupting them.

"Sure," Faith said. "You're all dismissed." The girls started chattering like regular teenagers, laughing and teasing one another. Klaus found the change fascinating.

"They go from skilled fighters to girls that quickly?" Klaus asked in bemusement. Their youth was so apparent now.

"Yep," Xander said.

"Do you ever get used to that?" Klaus wondered.

"Nope," Xander said.

"We can't be all doom and gloom all the time," Faith said with a shrug.

"We may as well show him the cafeteria," Xander said.

"I don't know. It may scare him off," Faith said, eying him with intent. "I'd like to play with him some before he runs off."

Klaus was a man, and therefore could not be indifferent to such a clear invitation. He chuckled. "I can see you're a woman who goes after what she wants," he said.

"That's me," Faith said, giving him a hungry look. "We had an apocalypse last night and saving the world leaves me really horny."

Xander laughed and slapped her on the back. "Faith, you could leave him a little mystery. Guys like that," Xander said.

"You don't," she pointed out. "You were in love with two women who were even more blunt than me!"

They walked to the cafeteria teasing one another. Klaus could see that the two had a close bond, one formed in battle, but the ease of former lovers.

When they went into the cafeteria, he wasn't sure what he expected. However, it wasn't what he saw. It was like a feeding frenzy. The girls pushed and shoved and literally took food out of each other's plates. A few almost came to blows.

"Do they not get enough food?" Klaus asked in surprise.

"Oh, they get plenty," Xander said with a chuckle. "Their metabolism is faster than regular humans. Also, they're naturally competitive, so they enjoy fighting over food."

Klaus watched the room as he sat at a smaller table with Faith and Xander. The food was decent, so he ate. Finally, he tore his eyes away from the young women and said, "When do you think you can call your witch friend?"

Xander pulled out his phone and pushed a button. "Hey, Will. There's a guy here that needs a curse broken. Think you can come help?" he asked. He listened and then said, "That's fine. See you then." After he hung up the phone, he turned to Klaus. "She'll be here in a day or so."

"Really?" Klaus asked hopefully. Never had he met a group of people so generous. "Just like that?"

"Well, sure," Xander replied, surprised at Klaus. "Why wouldn't she?"

"In my experience, people rarely do anything that can't be used to their advantage or without a price," Klaus responded.

"Sounds like you know a bunch of douchy people," Xander said.

"Assholes," Faith said in agreement.

"So your friend won't want anything from me?" Klaus asked.

"Just your soul," Faith joked. When Klaus looked alarmed, she burst out laughing. "Lighten up."

Klaus looked sheepish. "You are an unusual group," he said.

"That we are," Xander said happily.

They shared stories of their travels. Klaus was surprised how soothing he found their company. They had an easy comrade that he and his siblings used to have.

Klaus hung out with the two warriors the rest of the day. Xander told him how he lost his eye.

"Did you get to kill this evil priest?" Klaus asked.

"Not personally. But Buffy cut him in two with her shiny red scythe!" Xander said with a happy grin.

"Buffy? She's the first slayer, right?" Klaus asked, trying to keep it all straight.

"Yes, B, is the reason we're all here," Faith said. "She's the head of our organization. Since she spent seven years guarding a hellmouth, she decided she was done with that. Now she's mostly in Europe. There's a lot of demon clans over there. All the new slayers have made them nervous. She and Giles are brokering a peace agreement right now. That's where Red is at. As soon as they're done, she'll head this way."

Klaus didn't mind spending time with them until them. They were an entertaining lot. He watched Xander teach a class over weapons and tactics. He watched Faith make the strange Andrew guy cry when she broke one of his Star Wars toys. Amused, he began to learn more about the new group. For a group that faced death daily, they were surprisingly full of good cheer.

Somehow, Faith convinced Xander that it was not too early to show Klaus all the best bars and clubs in the city. They got dinner and drinks at one place. Then Faith dragged them to another. She teased and flirted with both Klaus and Xander, and Klaus enjoyed himself thoroughly. It was nice to not think about his recent tragedies and worries.

Then she took them to a club. Klaus sat at a table with Xander and watched her dance. She was a creature of passion and beauty because the way she moved was incredible. Nothing could constrain or bind her. Men joined her in the dance, and she allowed them to be close. Then she flitted a way.

"She's a tease," Klaus observed in amusement.

"That she is," Xander said. "Except when she's not. She used to be very promiscuous. Then she had a real relationship with Robin. They didn't work out, but she's choosier now."

"Does she ever get tired?" Klaus wondered.

"It takes a lot, but yes, she does. Battles that last a while will wear her down eventually. She is human after all," Xander said.

"Tell me about these vampires you kill," Klaus said, wanting to learn more about them. How would they react if they discovered he was one?

"We stake them, and they turn to dust. Not much to tell," Xander said, taking a sip of his beer.

Klaus was surprised. "Dust? I didn't know they turned to dust," he said.

"They do. The demon takes up shop in the human's dead body, so when the heart is pierced, the body disintegrates," Xander explained.

Klaus frowned. This wasn't what happened to his kind. Something was really strange. "How long have these vampires been around?" he asked.

"Since always. Demons used to walk the Earth, according to Giles, our expert on the supernatural," Xander said. "The original ones were called Old Ones. Humans eventually banished them to the Deeper Well, but half breeds are still on Earth now. That's how vampires came to be."

Klaus had heard of vampires with out of control blood lust, but it never occurred to him that they weren't from his family tree. How could they not know this?

Faith came up to their table. "One of you is going to dance with me!" she ordered.

"I think you need to break in our new friend here," Xander said, slapping Klaus on the back.

"It would be my pleasure," Klaus said gallantly as he rose to his feet.

Faith took his hand and led him to the center of the dance floor. "So are you having a good time?" she asked him as she moved to the music. Klaus mostly swayed and watched her.

He nodded. "I am," he said, flashing his dimple. "I can honestly say that except for the time I've spent with my daughter, I have not had much fun lately." His mind flashed to his night with Cami. That wasn't fun—that was pure joy.

Faith removed her hands from around his neck and stepped back as if scalded. "You have a daughter? Are you married?" she asked.

Klaus shook his head. "Never been married. My great blessing resulted from a drunken one-night stand—best mistake of my life," Klaus said with a half-smile.

Faith was a bit weirded out, but she put her hand back around his neck. His affection for his daughter was real enough. He was unattached, so she wouldn't be a homewrecker if she decided to take him for a spin. "What is your daughter's name?" she asked.

"Hope," he said with a loving smile on his face. "She's the first heir in our family. My brother Elijah can't have children nor can my sister Rebekah. My oldest sister Freya has not tried yet."

"Wow, a family where infertility runs in it is unusual," Faith remarked. The music was loud, but they both had exceptional hearing.

"Not in my family tree," he remarked dryly.

Faith's attention was taken, though, by a nearby guy. Her spidey-sense was tingling. Since the closing of Sunnydale's hellmouth, she could sense demons much easier than normal. As meeting Klaus demonstrated, she could even sense other supernatural creatures. Of course, she'd never met a werewolf as hot as this guy.

"Excuse me. Duty calls," Faith said, walking away from Klaus.

Klaus frowned and watched her follow another guy, who was laughing with a woman he was leading out of the club. Xander stood and began making his way toward the entrance, so Klaus did so also.

Faith made it out of the club first. The vamp she'd spotted was predictably leading the girl down the nearby dark alley. She rolled her eyes. "Why are vamps so lame?" she mumbled. She followed along, pulling out her stake as they entered the alley.

Klaus was just a few steps behind her. He was curious, assuming she'd found prey. He knew the look of a hunt when he saw it. This slayer was fascinating. She moved like a panther stalking her prey. Klaus watched as she pulled the guy away from the girl and began hitting the man in the face. He leaned against the alley wall, the street light casting just enough glow to give a clear view. Xander came up and stood next to him.

"She gets off way too much on beating a guy senseless," Xander said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Is that a guy?" Klaus asked pointedly. The man had transformed and snarled the word, "Slayer!"

"No, but she still enjoys the violence a bit too much," Xander countered. "She's very different from Buffy. For Buffy, it's a job. She does it because it's her duty, and she's good at it. For Faith, it's a rush, a turn-on."

Klaus liked this slayer even more. She was a predator like him. If only she didn't kill vampires for a living, he'd like her even more. However, this creature she was fighting didn't seem like his brethren. When she stabbed him in the heart, he literally turned to dust. Klaus felt something inside him relax.

They didn't kill his kind of vampire. Maybe they could handle learning the truth about him.

Could he risk his sister's health on a gamble?

****** _To Be Continued******_

_ Are you enjoying this? Take a minute and comment if you will be so kind! Thanks! _


	4. Fitting In

_*****Two Days Later*****_

Klaus had spent the past two days with his new friends in Cleveland. They showed him both a good time and introduced him to things he had never experienced before. He wished Elijah was here. His brother would've been even more fascinated than he. They spent most of their times with humans, werewolves, and other vampires like them. They were unaware of just how many demons that existed on the planet. Xander had been giving him quite the education.

When the girls had discovered that Klaus was an artist, they began pestering him to draw them. One even produced a sketchpad and charcoals. They were devious minxes, who he found impossible to resist. Being a father had made him entirely too soft, but it was odd to not be feared by so many. Klaus doubted they'd fear him if he told them exactly who and what he was. These girls were fearless Amazons. He spent several hours in the afternoon drawing them, and then Faith chased them away.

"Sorry about that," she said, shaking their head. "They're shameless."

"Not a problem," Klaus said as he continued to draw, focusing on her as his new subject.

"Red will be here tonight. If anyone can help your sister, she can," Faith said. She watched Klaus continue to sketch while she stood there. He was a strange man. He sought being a werewolf because he admittedly wanted the power. She admired his boldness and his frankness. He had a soul of an artist, but she suspected he was hiding something.

"I hope so. My sister has been by my side for ten centuries," he said absently. He had to get the eyes right. Faith's eyes were so full of passion and mischief.

"Ten centuries, huh? Sounds like a drag," Faith said casually. She moved closer as she played with the cross necklace around her neck. Why would he say that? Was he just exaggerating, or had he been alive that long? That would make him the oldest person she'd ever heard of. Did werewolves live that long? Her understanding of werewolves began and ended with Oz. She took off her necklace, swirling it around. "Hey, Dimples, catch," she called out as she threw the cross necklace to him.

Klaus looked up and caught the cross in his hand. He gave her a puzzled look as he looked down at the necklace. His hand didn't burn, so there went her new vampire theory. "Why are you throwing your jewelry at me?" he asked.

"I was testing your reflexes," she said. "I'm bored. Do you want to spar?"

Klaus had learned in the two days he'd spent in this building full of extraordinary women that they couldn't go very long without fighting. If there were no monsters to slay, they'd start fighting one another. He'd already seen three knock out brawls that Faith and Xander dismissed as no big deal. It was disconcerting at first because of their youth. However, he'd already grown fond of them. They reminded him of his little wolf. Hayley would fit right in with these women. He really hoped his daughter would grow up to be as strong as these women. It brightened his heart to think of her fighting with worthy women like this.

"Sure," he said, putting down his pencil with a smirk. The girls had asked him a few times to spar, but he'd resisted. It seemed wrong. For all their fierceness, the girls had an innocence and love of life that he didn't want to taint in any way. Although they should be natural enemies, Klaus found himself admiring the people in the school and what they were doing more all the time.

Faith led him to one of the smaller training rooms. "Don't worry, Dimples. I'll go easy on you," Faith said with a smirk.

"That won't be necessary. I think I can hold my own," Klaus said. He wasn't planning on using his vamp speed, but he also knew that if he made it easy for her, she wouldn't respect him nearly as much.

Faith took a swing right away, grinning when he managed to easily dodge it. "So how do you look so young if you've been alive for ten centuries?" she asked as she swung and missed again.

Klaus grimaced as he recalled his careless, distracted reply. "It feels like ten centuries when you're never away from one another," he explained as he swung his fist, hitting her in the jaw. Her head swung back, and she grinned.

"Not bad," she said in approval. Then she began to fight in earnest. Faith was impressed. He was fast—almost too fast. She landed a blow hard to his stomach, followed by a brutal upper cut to his chin.

Before he could recover, she swept his legs out from under him. When he fell to the ground, she landed on top of him. He didn't struggle as she grinned down at him.

"You seem to have me right where you want me," Klaus said with smirk.

"I wonder what to do first?" she asked, her eyes locked with his.

"Surprise me," Klaus suggested with a grin.

"What the hell!" she said, smiling and moved down to seal his lips with her own.

Klaus' arms wrapped around her as he returned her kiss with equal ardor. He gasped when her wily hands moved under his waist band, fondling him.

"Easy, love," he said, pulling up her hand. His own hands this swept under her shirt, pulling it off. He was about to unclasp her bra when a voice interrupted.

"Damn it, Faith! How many times do I have to tell you no hanky-panky in the training room? There's no lock on the door!" Xander scolded, frowning in disapproval.

"Risk of discovery is half the fun, Xan," Faith said with a mischievous grin. However, she reached for her shirt and slipped it on.

Klaus took a deep breath and got control of himself. The woman was sultry minx who knew how to drive a man mad. He grinned, not feeling any embarrassment or regret. She didn’t, so why should he?

"Well, you're going to have to have fun later. We have a situation down at the docks," Xander shared.

Cleveland bordered one of the Great Lakes. Occasionally, the city had issues with criminal activity down there. "What's wrong? You know it's not our job to police the city," Faith reminded him.

"There's a rumor of some type of water monster that ate a dock worker," Xander said. "Of course, the police don't confirm that and insist the guy just drowned."

"Looks like the Sunnydale syndrome is starting to set in," Faith said with a sigh.

"The Sunnydale syndrome?" Klaus inquired.

"It's where people in a city pretend nothing weird's going on, or they blatantly ignore or rationalize what they've seen," Faith said. "Sunnydale police consistently used gangs on PCP or death by barbeque fork."

Klaus grinned. "Death by fork? Seriously?" he asked, surprised.

"Once Buffy defeated a huge vampire in front of dozens of classmates, and the next day everyone acted like nothing had happened. Or that she was just like the criminal element," Xander said, recalling Buffy's first few weeks at school.

"It's not unusual for humans to look for a reason to explain the unreasonable," Klaus said, not overly surprised. He'd seen similar things in his long life.

He went with the girls and Xander to the docks. Xander took Faith and six other women.

The docks were quiet. He moved around sensing something but not seeing anything. Then something pulled him down from below, and he fell into the lake with a splash.

Faith heard the splash and ran toward the noise. She looked to see who was missing. Klaus. Something must've got him.

She heard another splash and ran in the direction of the noise. "Klaus! Klaus! Are you okay?" she called out.

All of a sudden something flew out of the water. When it landed, she realized it was Klaus. However, he wasn't the smiling dimpled guy she'd gotten to know. Instead, his eyes were yellow, his face was veiny, and he had fangs.

"What the hell?" she demanded. He sure as hell didn't look like any werewolf she'd ever seen!

Klaus was more than a little annoyed. The creature that had dragged him underwater was incredibly strong with more than two arms. It took tremendous effort to grab a hold of it and prevent it from eating Klaus like it wanted to. Fortunately, Klaus was able to break its neck.

Unfortunately, he revealed his vampire nature to his new friends. His eyes connected with Faith's, who was looking at him in surprise. Before he could answer her question, though, more of the ground beneath them was ripped up as the creatures pulled anyone nearby into the water.

"Christ! Xander!" Faith yelled, calling for help. She tried to pull one of the creatures off one of her girls. It looked like an octopus man. It had tentacles that were squeezing her slayer. Her eyes flashed angrily. She swung the sword she'd brought, cutting off tentacles. However, they grew back right away.

Xander shot his crossbow, the arrow finding its way into the thing's head. He followed it with two more, and the demon finally stilled.

"God, Trish, are you okay?" Faith asked the slayer.

"Yes," she said with a shudder.

A few other cries for help pulled her away. Both girls ran to help their friends. Faith heard a splash and a cry. She turned and saw Klaus dive into the water to help one of the girls. She didn't know what the hell he was and right now he didn't care. All that mattered was killing these things and getting her girls out safely.

In the water, Klaus struggled against the appendixes that were wrapped around the young slayer. This was Betty. She was very sweet with somber eyes. Klaus had drawn her picture just a few hours ago. Though superpowered, the girl was still human. She would drown soon if he didn't get her free. He ripped off two tentacles the old-fashioned way—by brute force. Betty didn't stop kicking and punching, and she looked at Klaus with desperate eyes.

Klaus hadn't been able to save Kol. He hadn't yet been able to save Rebekah, but he would save this fierce slayer, who was too young to die. With all his strength, he pushed through its back and reached for its heart. Quickly, he ripped it out, its tentacles going still. Then he grabbed Betty and swam upward, breaking the surface.

"Oh, God! Betty!" someone exclaimed.

Klaus swam toward the dock with the girl. She'd gone limp, so he didn't slow down. He saw Xander hanging over the dock, holding out his hand. Klaus pushed Betty up so that Xander could grab her and pull her out of the water. Xander laid her out on the dock.

"She's not breathing!" he exclaimed as Klaus pulled himself onto the dock next to them. He took in the nearby threats. Faith and another girl were tearing apart one of the creatures as four other girls worked to kill two more.

Xander began pushing on her chest, trying to push out the water. "Tilt up Betty's head and give her some air!" Xander ordered.

Klaus did so, breathing into the young woman.

"Come on, Betty!" Xander urged. He couldn't bear to lose another one. Finally, she coughed up some water and took a deep breath. "Thank God!"

Seeing that Betty was okay, Klaus jumped up and went to the nearest creature. One of the girls was tangled up in its tentacles, and the other was trying to avoid its razor-sharp teeth. Klaus moved in a blur behind it and broke its neck.

Faith swung her sword and chopped off the head of the one she was fighting. It seemed to be the only way to kill these things. However, she glanced over and saw Klaus break the neck of another. Faith wasn't sure she could do that, so the man was obviously incredibly strong.

What the hell was he?

Finally, the creatures were all dead.

"This totally makes me miss my swim coach from SunnyD. All he wanted to do was turn his team into water creatures that _didn't_ want to eat people!" Xander quipped.

"Yea, this was a bit insane even by hellmouth standards," Faith agreed.

"What do you want us to do with the bodies?" Trish asked.

"Just shove them into the water. The fish can get plenty of food for a while," Faith said.

While the others took care of the demon corpses, Xander and Faith fixed Klaus with pointed stares.

"So you're awfully nifty there with the superstrength and superspeed," Xander said easily. "It's daylight and you were able to give Betty CPR, so vampire seems to be out of the question. You can't be just a simple werewolf."

"So what the hell are you?" Faith demanded to know.

Klaus sighed, eying them warily. How would they react when they found out the truth?

***** _To Be Continued*****_


	5. Acceptance

_******Where We Left Off******_

Xander and Faith were looking at Klaus waiting for answers when Betty interrupted. "I don't care what he is. He saved my life," she said to Faith and Xander. She turned to Klaus and hugged him. Klaus couldn't remember the last time someone not related to him did such a thing. For a moment, he was frozen. Then he returned her hug. "Thank you," she said, smiling up at him.

"It was my pleasure," Klaus said, giving her a warm smile. "You and your friends are brave and selfless. The world is so much better with you in it."

She beamed at him in approval and then turned to Faith. "Can you yell at him later? I want to go home," she said.

Faith nodded. "Fine. We'll table this for now," she said. However, she still eyed Klaus with suspicion.

Klaus said nothing as they drove back to the school. Xander and Betty rode in his car, and Xander chattered about the monsters they'd just killed.

When they pulled up to the school, Betty jumped out. Xander turned to Klaus. "I'm not sure what you are, but saving the life of my girls goes a long way," Xander told him before getting out of the car.

Klaus was encouraged by his words but knew that Faith would make the final decision. He both needed their help for Rebekah, and he didn't want to lose the new alliance he'd forged with the lot of them. Also, he had grown to really like them in the short time that he’d known them. It would be disappointing to have them turn on him at this point.

Faith led him and Xander to Robin Wood's office. She gave Wood a report of what went down. She left nothing out. When she was done, Wood stared at Klaus with an unblinking, considering gaze.

Finally, he spoke. "You've not been completely honest with us," he accused, a note of reproach in his voice.

"I have lied about nothing. My sister has been hexed and needs someone with powerful magic to break it," Klaus said.

"You said you were a werewolf, yet Faith described you doing things no werewolf can do," Wood pointed out.

"I am special—as is my family," Klaus said carefully. He wasn't sure if honesty would make things better or worse.

Xander sensed his reluctance. "Look, we don't condemn anyone out of hand. People screw up. Faith here killed a few people and aligned herself with our mayor, who turned into a giant snake on the day of my high school graduation. A lot of people died—we forgave. Willow almost destroyed the world once. We helped her, and she's great now. We don't expect perfection, but we have to know what we're dealing with," Xander explained.

Klaus blinked, not expecting the confession or acceptance. "My mother was a very powerful witch. A thousand years ago, my youngest brother was killed by a werewolf. Unbeknownst to myself and my siblings, I was a product of her indiscretion with one of wolves from the same pack. After my baby brother was killed, my parents sought a way to protect them from the wolves. She cast a spell to make us immortal. It turned us into vampires," he shared.

Faith looked incredulous. "How can you be a vampire? Nothing soulless can get through Willow's protection wards. Not to mention, you don't react to crosses or daylight. Nor do you look like any vampire I've ever seen!" she said.

"Yeah, well, I'm not the kind of vampire you and your slayers kill. We've only been around a thousand years. We have souls. We can choose to act like monsters and turn off our emotions, but we have the conscience of our human counterparts," Klaus explained. “Our vampire nature tends to amplify our strongest human traits, whether they be good or bad. Some vampires are monsters from our lines, and some are just regular people trying to live their lives, harming no one.”

"So you're not a werewolf?" Xander asked, confused.

"I'm actually the rarest of creatures—a hybrid. I am both a vampire and a werewolf. My siblings are all vampires, however," Klaus explained.

"Are there lots of vampires like you? Giles is going to be really upset 'cause he didn't know this!" Xander exclaimed.

"My siblings and I have sired a few over the years," Klaus said evasively.

"How many siblings do you have?" Faith asked.

"Finn, the oldest, was killed a few years ago. We are mostly impervious to death. There used to be a weapon that could kill us. However, after it killed Finn and Kol, my younger brother, we managed to destroy it," Klaus shared.

"So there's just you, your sister, and your one older brother?" Xander asked.

Klaus nodded. "Yes, Elijah is the head of our family—the best of us. He is now taking care of my daughter and her mother," Klaus said.

"How can a vampire have a baby?" Xander asked.

"The Powers can interfere sometimes like with Angel," Faith reminded him.

"True," Xander said.

"I'm a werewolf, and somehow managed to do the impossible with another werewolf after centuries of not procreating," Klaus said dryly.

"Sounds like the PTB were messing with you, too," Faith said knowingly.

"PTB?" Klaus asked.

"The Powers That Be. Some higher powers that give prophecies and yank our chains," Faith explained.

"That's as good an explanation as any," Klaus said with a shrug.

"So your sister is really hexed?" Xander asked.

"Yes. We have a spelled dagger keeping her asleep, so she doesn't try to kill anyone," Klaus said. "The hex makes her mad."

"And she's strong like you?" Faith inquired.

"Not as strong. No one is. However, she is the strongest woman I've ever known, the most fierce, the most loyal," Klaus said.

"You must love her a lot," Xander said knowingly.

"She is my family. Always and forever," Klaus said firmly. "In a thousand years, she has rarely left my side for long."

"We understand family loyalty," Xander said. "So does Willow. She will help you."

Klaus stared at them in surprise. He wasn't sure when he'd lost his faith in the innate goodness of mankind. Probably when his father tied him up during his first werewolf change, and Elijah helped him do it. Cami had worked to inspire him to be better. His daughter had given him and his family hope for their future. However, things seem to always go wrong for him and his family. These people, though, were willing to overlook any of his past crimes and judge him solely on their interaction with him. Even after a thousand years of living on this earth, people could still surprise him.

"I would be eternally grateful for her help. My family and I will repay you," Klaus vowed.

Xander slapped him on the back. "No worries. We have lots of demon friends, but you're the first hybrid. Just stay away from Buffy. She's got a thing for bad boys," Xander joked.

Faith frowned at the thought. She'd lost a lot of things to Buffy. Normally, she didn't mind too much because Buffy was the better slayer in many ways. Plus, B had forgiven Faith for the many ways she'd hurt and betrayed her. However, the idea of Buffy with Klaus really pissed Faith off. Even though he was more than the simple werewolf she'd thought, his appeal hadn't waned.

Making a decision, she reached for his hand. "This bad boy won't have the energy for B. I saw him first," she said with a grin and a wink.

Xander snickered. "Don't break him. He's got a daughter, Faith," he teased.

"Don't worry. I'll go easy on him," Faith said, giving Klaus a sultry grin. Then she tugged on his hand and pulled him out of the room.

Klaus grinned, enjoying her boldness. Normally, he was the pursuer—at least with women of worth.

Faith led him to her bedroom and locked the door after they were inside. "So why don't you show me what exactly it means to be a hybrid?" she asked as she leaned against the shut door and grinned at him.

"Hybrids are bold and fearless," he said.

"That's good. So am I," she said with arrogance.

"Come here," he ordered, beckoning to her.

"Ohhh, so forceful!" Faith said in approval.

"Take off your clothes," Klaus ordered.

Faith slowly pulled off her jacket as she kicked off her shoes. Then she lifted her t-shirt over her head, tossing it carelessly to the side. Grinning, she bent down, showing her impressive breasts nestled in her black silk bra as she peeled off her socks.

Klaus watched in approval as she slowly teased him, taking her time undressing. As she stepped out of her pants, he stepped out of his own shoes and shirt. When she moved to unsnap her bra, he held up a hand. "Give me that pleasure," he said, holding out hand. She pulled her toward him. Then he kissed her hungrily, his hand moving to her back and unsnapping her bra.

Faith, never one to let a guy do all the work, moved her hands to unbutton his jeans. She wasted no time and reached inside to push them down along with his tidy whities.

Klaus was taken by surprise, however, when she went down on her knees, wrapping her hot lips around his hardening dick.

He allowed her to work her magic a few minutes before pulling her up. "You are extremely talented," he said in approval.

Faith grinned. "You've never been with a slayer," she said. She moved to whisper in his ear. "The key word is stamina. I bet you'll get tired before me." Then she bit his ear.

Klaus' mind went completely blank at both her words and action. Never had he been so turned on. He grinned back at her. "I'll take that bet," he said. Then he kissed her again.

It was after several hours and many orgasms later that they both fell back onto the bed breathing heavy. Faith looked over at her new favorite hybrid with an exhausted smile. "How about we call it a draw?" she suggested.

Klaus grinned, feeling better than he had in a long time. His slayer was a true minx—one with skills he'd not encountered in centuries. "I think that's a fine idea," he said, reaching to pull her closer, resting her head against his chest.

Faith listened to his heartbeat. "Your heart beats," she said in surprise.

"Does not the heart of all living things beat?" Klaus asked.

She shook her head. "No. Angel's doesn't. Nor does Spike's," she said.

"Exes?" he inquired.

She scoffed. "Buffy's exes," she answered. "Angel is my friend, though. He saved me from being consumed by the darkness. Have you ever had a friend like that?"

Klaus thought about it. "I've had Elijah. He is forever trying to save me from myself," Klaus shared, stroking her bare back slowly.

"Sounds like a good brother to have," she observed.

"Yes," Klaus said. "Do you have siblings?"

She shook her head. "No, but I have Xander. He's better than any brother," she remarked.

"I can see that," Klaus remarked. "I have a human friend like that." Then he recalled Cami's death. "I mean, I did, but my enemy killed her." There had been the beginning of more, but Aurora destroyed it before he and Cami could explore the real feelings between them. Not wanting to mar their time together, he pushed away the anger that came as he thought of his loss.

Faith looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she said with compassion.

"It happened right before I came here," he shared, surprised at his sudden desire to purge himself of his burden.

"Did you kill the guy who killed her?" Faith asked.

"Aurora, an ex from centuries ago, is more than a little insane. She was the first vampire my sister made. She compelled Cami to kill herself," Klaus revealed. His anger surfaced once more, and he grimaced.

Faith winced. "Were you there?" she asked. She stroked his chest, calming him.

Klaus nodded. "I was asleep, though, and could not stop her," he said.

"Do you need me to slay this vampire for you?" Faith offered.

Klaus tightened his arms around her, hugging her, grateful. "I appreciate the offer. But this is one battle I must fight on my own. Getting my sister freed from her curse will be more than enough aid," he said.

Faith raised up. "If Red cannot do it, no one can," Faith said confidently. "Since she's raised the dead, created slayers, restored souls, and moved to other realms with her magic, I'm sure she can do it."

Klaus closed his eyes, feeling good about the future. He had made some new and powerful friends. He had connected with Faith, a woman of incredible beauty and power. Soon, his sister would be whole again.

Then he'd deal with his enemies. No one would hurt his family without suffering dearly.

****** _Chapter End******_


	6. Rebekah Seeks Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this story ended w/chapter 5. Then I decided to pick up this story again. This chapter doesn’t pick up where previous left off. The five-year time jumped between season 3 and 4 of the Originals will not happen because Faith will go to New Orleans before too much time can pass. As season 3 and 4 had a five-year time jump, I’m going to be dealing with the end-between time. Freya has not been poisoned in my version, only the Kol and Elijah.

***** _Cleveland*****_

Faith was feeling restless and a bit blue. They had finished apocalypse season the previous week, and all she had to occupy her time was training the minis. So she went to bother Xander.

“Hey,” she said, finding him in his office. “Watcha doing?”

“I’m doing these lame ass reports Giles insists on us writing after ever major battle,” Xander said.

“It was a week ago, Xan. Shouldn’t you have this one done already?” she asked.

“If I wanted to write reports, I would’ve joined the girls in college,” he complained.

Faith grinned. “Read what you got so far,” she said.

_“The stupid demon clan that looked like rejects from the Star Wars prequel tried to open the hellmouth, but we stopped it.”_

He looked up, finished. Faith laughed. “Sounds perfect to me,” he said.

“But Giles will say, ‘How did you stop it? I need details.’ He’s so demanding now that he has all the power of the Council behind him!” Xander said with a pout.

“Yes, he’s a real taskmaster,” she said dryly. “How about you add this: _Faith and her girls beat the demons down real bad until they were dead.”_

Xander grinned. “That will make him nuts! He hates poor grammar!” Xander said, writing it down. “What is sad is that I now recognize that was poor grammar.”

“I’m thinking we call Kennedy to come take over the hellmouth, and you and I go on a road trip for the summer,” Faith said.

Xander looked up, his interest piqued. “Really? A road trip? One that won’t end with my car breaking down, and me working as a stripper to pay for it? I’m in!” he said.

Faith chuckled. “I still can’t believe that story, and I’m totally hurt you won’t give me a demonstration of your mad skills!” she told him.

“I don’t want you to fall in love with me,” Xander said airily as he stood. “Once you see these hips in action and me in my undies, you’ll be my slave for life!”

“Well, I guess you better keep the clothes on,” she said, grinning in amusement.

“So where do you want to go?” Xander asked.

“I was thinking we might go down to New Orleans and check on Klaus. We never heard much from him once he left with the cure except that it worked,” Faith said. “I know his sister is okay because he called me. I called him twice this past week and didn’t hear anything.”

“Do you think something’s wrong or is it that he doesn’t want you to come panting after him?” Xander asked with a smirk. He did love to live dangerously.

Faith’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t pant after guys. He and I had some fun, but it wasn’t true love or anything,” she said. “We connected, though, and I rarely do that with anyone.”

“Yea, I kind of liked him myself,” Xander said. “He was really good with the girls.”

“He has sisters he’s close to, so that’s not too surprising,” Faith said.

Xander’s phone rang, and he hit the speaker button. “What’s up?” he asked.

“There’s this hot blonde goddess at the door asking to speak to the Dark Slayer who cured her,” Andrew said. “I think I’m in love.”

Xander looked at Faith. “Send her my way.” He hit the disconnect. “Well, I guess we can find out what’s going on with Klaus.”

When his office door opened, he and Faith turned to greet the visitor. Xander whistled appreciatively. “You weren’t exaggerating,” he said to a beaming Andrew. “She is one of the most stunning women I’ve ever seen, and I work with Faith.”

Faith grinned while Rebekah Mikaelson looked flustered. How was it that she could live so long, and she still felt disarmed when a guy paid her a compliment?

“I’m Rebekah Mikaelson. You met my brother Niklaus,” she said.

“He called himself Klaus, but yes,” Faith said. “I’m Faith, and that’s Xander.”

Xander held out his hand, and he shook hers. It was warm, not cold like Deadboy’s or Spike’s. These vampires really were different. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Faith and I were just talking about taking a trip to New Orleans to see your brother.”

“I was hoping you would come because my brother needs your help,” Rebekah said. 

“Of course,” Faith said. “I’m bored, and we were planning on taking some time off.”

“I need to call Giles and get another seasoned slayer to watch over the hellmouth and the minis,” Xander said.

“So my brother wasn’t lying?” Rebekah asked. “This town really is on a hellmouth, and this is a school for vampire slayers?”

“Yes on both accounts,” Xander said. “But we don’t kill your kind of vampires unless we find them slaughtering humans.”

“We’ve mostly been slaughtering other vampires,” Rebekah said. “Ever since Nik became a father, he’s been obsessed with taking back New Orleans, a city we helped build long ago. My ex, Marcel, who Niklaus freed from slavery and raised as his son, has taken over the city. We got him to free the witches that he’d enslaved, and he allowed the werewolves to come out of the bayou. However, after we ended the sire lines, the ancestors of the witches in New Orleans seduced Marcel into becoming a creature that could defeat our family. My sister Freya, a very powerful witch, brought back my brothers Finn and Kol, who had been killed. However, Marcel now has the blood of all the werewolf bloodlines in him. He’s a hybrid that is more powerful than Nik. He bit Finn, killing him. As my brothers, Elijah and Kol, fought him, they, too, were bit. Freya has put them into a mystical sleep, slowing the poison, so they won’t die. She is searching for a cure.”

“We can call Willow again if you need some magical mojo,” Faith said.

“What I need is help dealing with Marcel. He has got Klaus and is holding him captive. He has an army of vampires,” Rebekah said. “I can handle most of them, but I can’t handle Marcel. He’s too strong now. My brother was supposed to be the strongest creature in existence, but he’s not anymore.”

“Well, your brother may be really powerful, but there’s lots of things out there that you guys aren’t aware of,” Xander said. “Klaus didn’t even know about the demon vampires we fight that turn to dust.”

“Yes, he mentioned that. I cannot believe that our mother or Elijah did not know about these creatures,” Rebekah said. “We assumed that extremely bloodthirsty vampires were just newly turned from one of our sire lines.”

“Never occurred to you that you had a responsibility to do something to curb the slaughter, huh?” Xander said.

She shrugged. “Not really. We spent nearly ten centuries running from our father, who sought to end our existence, so we didn’t really worry about others,” she said.

“Good to know,” Xander said, not appreciating her disregard for human life.

“So is Klaus okay?” Faith asked.

“No, he’s not. Hence my coming to you and asking for help,” Rebekah said impatiently.

“And you do so in such a gracious manner,” Xander said with a bright smile. The woman may be beautiful, but he was getting the Cordelia-vibe from her and not in a good way.

“Well, I’m sorry if I’m not warm and cuddly like Niklaus, but I was turned before I reached eighteen. According to my older brother Elijah, my emotional maturity is lacking,” Rebekah said.

Faith snorted. “Hey, I don’t need any false sentiment or fake niceness. Klaus needs help, we’ll help him,” she said.

“Just like that?” Rebekah asked surprised.

“No, we’ll need a signed contract in blood that you will serve us for a century,” Xander said with a straight face.

“That sounds reasonable. In what capacity? I will not be a sex slave unless the partner is to my liking,” Rebekah said.

Xander’s mouth fell open in shock at her words, and Faith slapped his harm. “Cut it out, Xan,” she ordered. “Ignore him. He’s kidding. We don’t require anything from you. We’re both bored and need something to do since we averted our latest apocalypse. Your brother is someone I actually like, and I don’t like many people.”

“She’s not lying,” Xander said with a grin.

Rebekah examined the two demon fighters, unsure if she could trust them, but she was short on allies. “I would appreciate any help I can get,” she said.

“So do you need more than us? How many people do you think it would take to free Klaus from your ex?” Xander asked.

“Marcel has a few hundred vampires loyal to him, and he is very powerful,” she said.

“Are you worried that Marcel will find a way to kill your brother?” Faith asked. “Can he do that?”

Rebekah hesitated before answering. “Well, I don’t think he will. One some level, he loves my brother as my brother loves him like a son, but he could punish Klaus severely for a long time as my brother will heal,” she said.

“No one can hurt you like family,” Faith said in a bitter tone. “So you don’t really want us to kill Marcel either, just convince him to let Klaus go?”

She nodded. “Marcel thinks he’s doing the right thing. That’s what’s maddening,” she said. “My brother isn’t always as strategic as Marcel or Elijah. Like me, he tends to be impulsive and quick to react and mistrust.”

“Well, you came to the right place because we have lots of girls just like that in this building,” Faith said. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

Rebekah followed the two out the room and down the hall. Then they opened the door to a gymnasium of sorts. The room was filled with young women of all different sizes and ethnicities. What they all had in common was a lethal predator grace that was obvious as they engaged in various physical activities. There were a few sparring matches going on, a rope climb, a punching bag, and a basketball goal.

“How many girls go to this school?” she asked.

“We have about a hundred, but thirty of them have already went home for the summer break. Twenty are going out to put out fires globally,” Xander said.

“How old are these girls?” Rebekah asked.

“They range from age thirteen to nineteen,” Xander said. “Older slayers get sent out to join smaller teams across the world. Before Willow’s spell, the average slayer’s life span was one year. Buffy is twenty-three now, having lasted eight years as an active slayer. Faith has six years as she is our number two.”

“So all of these girls are vampire slayers? They are as strong as a vampire?” Rebekah asked.

“We don’t know if they are as strong as your kind or not,” Xander said.

“Yea, Klaus mostly drew the girls’ portrait while he was here,” Faith said.

“You and he didn’t spar?” Rebekah asked.

“Sort of,” Faith said with a smirk. “It was a mutually satisfying draw.”

Rebekah rolled her eyes, unsurprised.

“Girls!” Xander called out. “Can I have everyone’s attention?” The girls all stopped what they were doing and moved toward him.

“What’s up, Professor?” one said.

“Remember our special hybrid friend that visited several months ago? Klaus?” Xander asked.

“He drew my picture,” another said. “I framed it for my mother for Christmas, and she loved it.”

“Yes, well, this is Rebekah, his sister,” Xander introduced.

Rebekah felt a bit uncomfortable as a few dozen eyes zeroed in on her, judging and weighing her worth.

“She’s so pretty!” one girl said.

“Does she have the dimple that her hot brother has?” another asked.

“Rebekah is here because Klaus is in some trouble back in New Orleans,” Xander explained. “I need some volunteers to go with us to help get him out of some trouble.”

“Oh, I’ve never been to New Orleans,” one girl said. “I wanna go.”

“Me, too!” another said. Several echoed.

“All of you can’t. Only those at least sixteen are eligible for this particular trip,” Xander said. Several girls complained.

“Maybe for Thanksgiving break, we’ll take another trip there, okay?” Xander said, getting bright smiles.

Rebekah could tell that the girls adored him. He had one eye and was entirely human. Was he like Matt? Did he just know how to make a girl feel special? Or was he like Alaric Saltzman? He reminded her of Alaric, but she suspected he was more like Matt.

“You can bring them? They’re so young,” Rebekah said.

“These girls have been fighting demon and monsters for a year now,” Faith said. “They’re not so young. Sixteen was the age of Buffy when she first died saving the world. They want to live up to her legacy, so they fight. They take risks.”

“But not too many. If things get dicey, we’ll call Willow. She’s the big bad witch I have on speed dial,” Xander said.

“She’s the one who cured me, right?” Rebekah asked.

Faith nodded. “Yes, but she ends conflicts too quickly and takes away all the fun,” Faith said with a wink. “We want to have some fun.”

“A bored slayer is a dangerous one,” Xander agreed. “I’ll take about a dozen of them. I’ll get Andrew to book a hotel.”

“If they’re willing to share a room, you can stay at my house. It’s quite large, and Hayley and Hope live across the street,” Rebekah said. “A few might stay there also.”

“I don’t know, Rebekah. They eat a lot,” Xander said.

Rebekah smiled, finally relaxing. “I assure you that my family can afford to feed them. In a thousand years, we have acquired quite a bit of money,” she said.

“Sounds like a party,” Faith said. “We’ll head that way tomorrow, okay?”

“Really?” Rebekah asked.

“Sure,” Xander assured her. “We’ll get the okay from Giles, but he won’t care. He knows that nothing happens over the summer that Robin and the other girls can’t handle. We’ll get Kennedy to come here. She likes bossing people around.”

“Not Willow—not anymore,” Faith said with a satisfied grin.

“Very true,” Xander said, returning the smile.

Rebekah looked confused. “Willow used to date Kennedy, and we don’t like her as much as we liked Willow’s other exes,” Xander said.

“Ah,” Rebekah nodded in understanding. “I really appreciate your help. If you will give me your number, I will text you the address of our home.”

“Sure,” Xander said, holding his hand out for her phone. He typed it in and sent himself a text from it. “Got yours, too.”

“We’ll see you soon,” Faith said. “Your brothers are going to be okay.”

“I hope so,” she said.

Xander waved goodbye and watched her leave. Then he turned to Faith. “I think New Orleans is going to be quite the party,” he said.

Faith grinned. “I’m looking forward to it. Better call Giles and make some plans,” she said. “I’ll work out who I’m taking.”

She walked down the hall, thinking of her last encounter with Klaus.

_*****Flashback*****_

_She woke up in her room, wrapped in Klaus’ arms. To her great pleasure, the man had actually worn her out. Her body felt a bit sore—in a very delicious way._

_“Good morning,” Klaus said as soon as she stirred._

_She turned over and looked at him. His sexy-as-hell smile made her pulse race, and he gave her a knowing look. “Are all vampires of your nature so good in bed?” she asked._

_He frowned. “How about you not find out?” he asked._

_“Well, you’re leaving today, and I’ve just discovered something quite amazing,” she said with a grin._

_“Lucky for me, this town doesn’t have my kind of vampire,” he said. “You get to feeling lonely, come see me in New Orleans.”_

_“I might do that,” she said._

_“I hope so,” he said. Then he kissed her._

_*****End of Flashback*****_

They had went another round that morning, and then after lunch, Willow had arrived. She said goodbye, wishing they could’ve had more time. Then she shook it off. He was a man with lots of baggage, and she so didn’t need the drama. Not hearing from him after his one text had stung, though. Knowing that he had a very good reason for not communicating made her feel better.

Faith was looking forward to seeing the hybrid again, and no super power hybrid named Marcel was going to keep her from him.

***** _Chapter End*****_


	7. New Orleans

_*****A Week Later*****_

Faith and Xander made it to New Orleans a week later, bringing a dozen of their most experienced slayers.

They went to the address Rebekah had text to them. “Wow. This is some digs,” Faith said as they walked inside the courtyard. 

Rebekah came out of her room at the sound of their voices. “Glad to see you made it,” she said. They looked up and saw her on the balcony.

“Hey,” Faith said. “I brought some of the girls. Can we crash here, or do I need to send them to a hotel?”

“They can stay here if they want. If they’d prefer a hotel, my family will pay the bill,” Rebekah said, moving to the stairs. “It’s the least we can do. Thanks for coming.”

“Helping beautiful women is what we do,” Xander said, winking at her.

Rebekah smiled. “Come on, and I’ll give you a tour,” she said. She smiled at the girls looking around.

They walked around the huge house, and the slayers picked rooms to stay in. The rooms all had a sofa and a huge bed, so three girls roomed together. Faith decided to stay in Klaus’ room. When she went into the connecting room and saw all his paintings, she was stunned.

“Klaus is an artist? I mean, I knew he could draw, but this is a whole other level,” she said to Rebekah.

“Yes, he’s always painted,” Rebekah said with a shrug.

“That’s incredible. Some of these are really cool,” Faith said. “I don’t know much about art, but he’s clearly gifted.”

“Klaus has two ways to relieve his emotions, slaughter or painting,” Rebekah said.

Faith snorted. “He’s a complicated guy,” she said. “Is his daughter okay?”

“Hope’s room is across the hall, but right now, she’s across the street with her mother,” Rebekah said. “Did Klaus tell you much about Haley and the wolves?”

Faith shook her head, and Rebekah explained about the wolves, her status as a hybrid, and how Hayley’s husband had been killed by the same group that turned Marcel into a superhybrid.

“Sounds like the woman has had it rough,” Faith said.

“She has, but she’s stayed with us, by our side like a real sister,” Rebekah said.

“But she’s not with Klaus?” Faith asked, telling herself that the answer didn’t matter to her.

Rebekah shook her head. “Actually, she was in love with Elijah, our older brother, but she had to marry Jackson to combine the packs. He was a good guy, and she grew to love him,” Rebekah shared.

Xander came in to the room. “The girls want to go see the sights? Is that okay?” Xander asked.

Rebekah nodded. “Yes. Marcel doesn’t allow the vampires to kill tourists,” she shared.

“He sounds like a good guy,” Faith said. “Do you want me to kill him or just put him down?”

“No, don’t kill him,” Rebekah said quickly. “Marcel is our family, and I loved him once very deeply.”

“Sounds like your family drama is worse than any family drama we’d had,” Faith said.

“And that says a lot,” Xander added with a grin.

“So how can we help your other brothers? What do you think the cure would be for Marcel’s bite?” Faith asked.

“When my brother Nik bit a vampire, they were doomed to die unless he gave them his blood. Only his blood was a cure,” Rebekah said.

“You think Marcel’s blood is the cure for your two brothers?” Xander asked.

“Most likely,” Rebekah said. 

“And Marcel won’t give you his blood?” Xander asked.

Rebekah shook her head. “No. He won’t even speak to me, which is not something he’s ever done since I’ve known him,” she said.

“That’s because he knows you’re his weakness,” Xander said with a knowing smirk.

“Me? Doubtful,” Rebekah said dismissively.

“Why do you say that?” Xander asked. “Have you looked in the mirror lately? Can you see your image? The vamps we kill can’t see their reflection.”

Rebekah looked horrified. “I’d have found a way to off myself long ago if I couldn’t look in the mirror!” she exclaimed.

Faith and Xander laughed. “I’m not much of a diva, but I don’t think I could go without ever seeing my image either,” Faith said.

“Your image is perfection,” Xander said to Rebekah. “If this Marcel ever loved you, he knows he won’t be able to resist you for long. That’s why he’s avoiding you.”

Rebekah blushed, pleased by the compliment. Even after a thousand years, she still felt like a young girl whenever she was complimented.

“So where can we find this Marcel? Do you know where he’s keeping your brother?” Faith asked.

“Josh told me that he bricked him up inside one of his properties,” Rebekah said.

“You’re shitting me?” Faith asked, surprised.

“Nope,” Rebekah said. “My brother is slowly starving until he is desiccated. It’s a horrible existence. He’s alive but unable to move. He’s got Nik mobilized with this mystical dagger in his heart. It traps him in his body.”

“How long does he plan on keeping Klaus like that?” Faith asked, angry at the thought.

“As long as he can,” Rebekah said. “Normally, the sentence is a year to fifty, depends on what the vampire has done. Marcel has several vamps he’s punished this way. It keeps them in line.”

“That is a good way to keep vampires from slaughtering humans,” Xander said, impressed. “

“My brother hasn’t been slaughtering humans. He’s just slaughtered other vampires loyal to Marcel, mostly,” Rebekah said. 

“So basically, this was a coup,” Xander said. “Marcel was running this city for a long time, and then your brother came back to claim the power. Marcel couldn’t do anything about it until he was made into this superhybrid. Now he’s got the mojo to keep your brother in line.”

“More or less,” Rebekah acknowledged.

“You know, I’m not sure our girls should get in the middle of a vampire war like this,” Xander said.

“It’s a bit late, Xan. We’re here,” Faith said, annoyed. “Besides, I’m not going to let Klaus stay locked up like that, and I’ll kill any vampire that gets in my way.”

“You won’t be able to kill Marcel,” Rebekah said. She gave Xander a beseeching look. “My family is very powerful. If you save Klaus and get the blood to cure my brothers, we could aid your slayers any time you need extra firepower in your demon wars.”

“Well, we don’t really call them demon wars,” Xander said. “Normally, they’re apocalypses—demons trying to destroy the world.”

“The girls we brought came of their own free will,” Faith said. “We’ll tell them what’s the what. They can make their own choices. If they don’t want to be involved, they don’t have to.”

Xander nodded. “Okay,” he said. 

“Where can I find your ex?” Faith asked. 

“At this time of day, probably Rousseau’s,” Rebekah said. “I’ll give you the address or take there.”

“No need. We’ll google it,” Xander said, holding up his phone. “It’s probably best if we go on our own and try to meet him without you coloring his attitude toward us.”

“Okay,” Rebekah said. “Probably for the best. However, I can offer a distraction while you get his blood.”

“Let’s do a meet and greet and see how he responds,” Faith suggested. “Maybe, he’ll be persuaded.”

“You are pretty, and he does have a weakness for pretty girls,” Rebekah said with a smile.

“So I’ll play nice, and see if he’s open to negotiations,” Faith said with a wink.

Rebekah watched the duo leave after they spoke to their girls, warning them not to slay any vampires they sensed. The girls all left them, eager to seem more of the city. She was really hopeful that the group would be able to help her brothers. Then her older sister, Freya, came into the room. 

“Why are there strangers in our house?” she asked. “Strangers who have immense power but aren’t witches.”

“Those are the slayers I told you about,” Rebekah reminded her. “They’re here to help. I offered to let them stay here. Do you mind?”

“Not if they help us get our family back,” Freya said.

“The girls went to do some sight-seeing while Xander and Faith go scope out Rousseau’s,” Rebekah shared.

“I’m just so glad Klaus was able to get that cure for you. I’m not sure how Hayley and I would’ve managed without you here.”

“I think you would’ve managed, but it’s good that Klaus met Faith. She and her friends are very powerful,” Rebekah said. “Marcel will probably be at Rousseau’s when they get there.”

“Do you think they’ll be able to convince him to restore our brothers?” Freya asked.

“Well, Xander isn’t sure that they should involve themselves in vampire politics,” Rebekah said, rolling her eyes. “Faith pointed out that the slayers who came were here voluntarily, but she’d tell them that Marcel wasn’t really an evil demon they could slay out of hand.”

“The witch who came up with your cure is very powerful,” Freya said. “Maybe she could help?”

“Maybe,” Rebekah. “I told them that in exchange for their help, we’d help them the next time they’re in a fight. That’s kind of what they do. Fight demons and those soulless vampires that are forever causing global problems.”

Freya nodded. “That’s fine. I’m sure Elijah will be okay with that, and Kol is always willing to make new friends with pretty girls,” she said.

That was very true, but Rebekah was more worried that their new friends would fail, and she would once again have to live without anyone to oppose Marcel and aid her brothers.

***** _Rousseau’s*****_

Xander and Faith decided that he would go in first and make contact while Faith would go around the block and then enter the place.

Marcel was talking to Josh at the bar when they saw a guy with an eye patch walk in.

“Is there a pirate theme parade or festival this week?” Josh asked Marcel.

“No,” Marcel said with a grin. He glanced at the guy. “He’s human, and he carries himself like someone used to fighting. Probably was in a war or something.”

Josh winced in sympathy. “I’d hate to think of what happened to have to wear one of those,” Josh said.

Xander smiled companionably as he sat at the bar, two stools down from Marcel. “Hey. Can I have a beer? Whatever you got on tap,” Xander said. 

“Sure,” Josh said. He turned to get it while Marcel eyed the stranger with interest.

“Hello,” Xander said, knowing the attractive black man must be Marcel.

“Hello,” Marcel said, giving him a friendly smile. “New in town?”

“Yep. My first time in New Orleans,” Xander said.

“You should’ve come during Madi Gras. The town is insane then,” Marcel told him.

“Nah,” Xander said. “That’s not the real city. That’s the show you guys put on for the tourist. I like to know the heartbeat of a city without the bells and whistles.”

Marcel gave him a considering look. “That’s unusual but appreciated,” he said. He held out his hand. “I’m Marcel Gerard.”

“Xander Harris,” he said, shaking Marcel’s hand. He could tell that the man was not evil, and this situation was very complicated.

“This is Josh,” Marcel introduced.

“Nice to meet you both,” Xander said.

“So are you here by yourself?” Marcel asked.

“No, I’m rarely by myself,” Xander said with a grin. “I’m an instructor of sorts at an all-girls school in Cleveland. I brought about a dozen girls with me, and one other instructor. She should be here soon.”

Marcel chuckled. “I see you came in here to escape,” he said knowingly.

“I love them,” Xander said. “But there’s only so much giggling a man can take and stay sane.”

Josh smiled, liking the man instantly. “So is the patch an affectation or do you need it?” he asked.

Marcel winced. “Josh, that isn’t polite,” he said. The danger of turning guys before they were twenty was they didn’t always learn tact.

“That’s okay,” Xander said easily. “I know I should get a glass eye or something, and I might one day,” he said. “But, yea, I lost my eye a few years ago.”

“An accident?” Josh asked.

Marcel glared. “Seriously, Josh,” he warned.

“Sorry,” Josh muttered.

“Morbid curiosity,” Xander said. “I have new girls coming yearly to our schools, so I’m immune to offense. They always ask even though anyone already at the school could’ve told them. But to answer your question, I got it poked out by a psychotic priest, who was trying to murder my best friend.”

“Oh, God,” Josh said, feeling sick.

Marcel began wondering if he turned the man would his eye grow back? Of course, he’d never turn a tourist, but he was curious. “I’m sorry that happened. Did your friend survive?” he asked.

Xander nodded. “Yep. She managed to get the best of him,” Xander said. “The guy had killed a lot of girls, but Buffy wasn’t one of them.”

“Your best friend is named Buffy?” Josh asked.

Xander grinned. “Don’t let her hear you make fun of her name. She’s tiny but deadly,” Xander said.

“I love strong women,” Marcel said.

“I bet,” Xander said, thinking about Rebekah, Marcel’s ex. “I’m surrounded by them, so it can be disconcerting sometimes. My best friend from kindergarten, Willow, is this bad ass Wiccan.”

“Is she here?” Josh asked. “We have a very rich Voodoo culture here in the French Quarter. She’d probably enjoy herself.”

“Not this time,” Xander said. “But if you give me the name of some shops, I’ll stop by and buy her something.”

“So your comfortable with magic?” Marcel asked. “That’s not usual in our tourists.”

Xander shrugged. “Well, I was born in Sunnydale, California—that town that fell into the giant sinkhole a while back. Hear about it?” he asked.

“You lived there?” Josh asked. “That had to suck. I hope you didn’t lose anyone.”

“My fiancée,” Xander said grimly. “Most people, though, knew something bad was going to happen and left before the quake hit. The town was on top of a hellmouth.”

“A hellmouth?” Marcel asked, frowning. “What exactly is that?”

“What it sounds like,” Xander replied. “The door way to hell was under my high school’s library, and demons and other idiots were always trying to open it.”

“Man, that sounds like an insane place to live,” Josh said, shaking his head. And he thought New Orleans was bad. It was comforting to know there were worse places to live.

“It had its moments,” Xander acknowledged. “Now we’re in Cleveland. That town has a smaller hellmouth, but it’s pretty tame compared to Sunnydale. We try to keep a lid on things.”

“That’s what you do? Keep demons from opening hellmouths?” Josh asked.

“Someone’s gotta,” Xander said, sipping his beer.

“You’re a demon hunter,” Marcel said, realizing he wasn’t a soldier in the traditional sense.

“You could call me that,” Xander said, nodding. 

“Why are you being so open with us?” Josh wondered.

“Well, since you’re both vampires, I figured you’d believe me,” Xander said, matter-of-factly.

Josh straightened, and Marcel went on the alert. Before they could speak, Faith walked into the bar.

Marcel eyed the incredibly sexy woman, knowing instinctively that she was a predator. Her sultry grin had him on guard as much as it attracted him.

The woman was trouble—he just knew it.

***** _To Be Continued*****_


	8. The Definition of Family

_******Where WE Left Off******_

Marcel watched his new pirate friend wave at the new arrival. “Is that your co-teacher?” he asked.

Xander nodded. “Yep. That’s Faith,” he said. Faith sat down next to Xander, one empty stool between them.

“Hello,” Faith said, flashing Marcel a sultry smile.

“Well, hello to you,” Marcel replied, giving her one of his own very potent smiles.

Faith whistled. “Damn, but you’re pretty. Too bad we’re not going to be friends,” she said. She ordered a drink.

Marcel gave Xander a puzzled look. Xander just shrugged and gave him that look men often gave when a woman went off script.

After Faith took a sip of her drink, Marcel moved a barstool over to sit next to her. “So why aren’t we going to be friends?” he asked.

“Because you have an old lover of mine imprisoned somewhere in this city, and I’m going to free him,” Faith said, giving the vampire a wink.

Marcel wasn’t sure if the women was serious or if she was playing some elaborate game. As she and her pirate friend were just humans, though, he wasn’t too disturbed.

“What old lover would that be?” Marcel asked.

“Klaus Mikaelson,” Faith said. “You and your daddy issues need to get resolved because there’s a little girl who needs her daddy, and I promised her aunts that I’d help bring him back.”

Marcel’s smile cooled but didn’t falter completely. “You shouldn’t promise things that you can’t deliver,” he said. “Klaus and the Mikaelsons were on a path of destruction that was going to rip this city a part. I stepped him and restored order. When I feel he’s been punished enough, I’ll release him.”

Faith drained her glass and turned to face Marcel. “That’s not good enough. His daughter isn’t a vampire, and you don’t have the right to take anyone’s father from them,” she said.

Marcel’s air of congeniality left as he said, “You don’t know me. You don’t know my city, so don’t presume to come in here and pass judgement.”

Faith smirked. “Well, I know that you were the one that enslaved the witches in this town and culled the wolves, so how about you stop pretending that you’re better?” she pointed out.

Josh, who’d been watching this exchange grew nervous. “Hey, I don’t mean to offend, but Marcel is a good guy. He doesn’t go around killing indiscriminately like Klaus and Elijah. They’re two scary dudes,” he said.

Xander grinned. “Well, there’s killing, and then there’s killing. Were they preying on humans?” he asked.

“Well, no. Other vampires,” Josh admitted.

“But witches are human, right?” Xander pointed out.

“Yea, but they were trying to sacrifice my friend Davina in this twisted blood ritual for magic,” Josh said.

“A ritual that worked and brought them all back just like the witches said it would, right?” Xander countered.

“Interfering with another person’s religion isn’t cool,” Faith said. “There’s that whole freedom of religion built into our Constitution.”

“Still—it was messed up,” Josh said weakly. He glanced at Marcel to see if he was going to interject.

Marcel realized that the friendly tourist was not just a nice guy, but one with an agenda. Being played pissed him off, and he glared. “So I guess you’re trying to play a game, too, huh?” he asked.

Xander held up his hands in surrender. “No, sir. Not my style,” he said. “I met this really beautiful girl—I’m talking a total knock-out. She came to my hellmouth and begged us to help her family. I’m a sucker for a pretty face, and I have a thing for blondes. I heard that was a particular weakness of yours, too.”

Marcel stared at the man as it came together. Then he laughed. “I get it—Rebekah. She won you over,” he said knowingly. “I can understand that. She’s hard to resist—I know.”

“So we hear,” Xander said, grinning. “She says you avoid her.”

“Well, if you’ve met her, you might know why,” he said. “She’s got a wicked temper, too, and I don’t want her slaughtering all my guys, forcing me to hurt her. I’d soon hurt myself.”

“Yes, I can see that,” Xander said, nodding. “But the thing is the situation is a bit complicated.”

“No, it’s not at all. This is my city, and I’m now strong enough to contain the biggest, baddest of us all—Klaus Mikaelson,” Marcel said. “I’ve had dozens here demanding that I kill him, but I’ve not done so. Nor do I plan, too. The guy freed me from slavery. All that I am is because of him, but the Mikaelson vow of ‘Always and Forever’ really only extends to those of their blood. When it came down to it, Elijah didn’t choose me—he tried to kill me.”

Xander winced in sympathy. “I bet that hurt,” he said. “I know what it’s liked to love more than you’re loved at times. However, any love at all is worth hanging on to. Don’t you think?”

Marcel gave a small nod of concession. “Sometimes,” he said.

“Okay, so let’s cut the bullshit,” Faith said, growing impatient. “Which of them is the greatest threat? Klaus, Elijah, or Kol?”

“Well, Kol’s the greatest threat to the humans as he’s got a bloodlust issue,” Marcel shared. “There was a reason that Klaus kept him daggered for nearly two hundred years—no self-control. Klaus is the strongest and must unpredictable. But Elijah is the cool one—the deadliest in many ways. There’s nothing he won’t do for his family.” 

Xander saw the flash of pain and bitterness that flashed in the vampire’s eyes and felt real sympathy for the guy. He obviously did love the Mikaelsons and felt he was doing what was best. How to get through to him? He glanced at Faith.

Faith wasn’t immune to the vampire’s obvious charms and sympathies. However, her goal was to get Klaus free, so she wasn’t going to get sidetracked by a hot vampire with a killer smile—no matter his justifications. “Maybe give us one of the brothers to appease Rebekah. She’s a bit lost without them.”

“So they can conspire against me?” Marcel asked. “I think not.”

“You’re going to give us your blood either willing or not,” Faith said, losing her patience.

Marcel stood, finally getting angry. “I’m a reasonable guy,” he said. “But you need to leave as you’ve pissed me off. I don’t usually go with killing tourist, especially not teachers. However, I can make an exception if you keep threatening me and mine.”

Xander nodded. “That’s understandable,” he said easily. “I had hoped we could talk you into being reasonable as I don’t want things to get ugly either.” He stood.

“But things are going to get ugly,” Faith warned. She followed Xander out the door.

Marcel looked at Josh. “See what you can find out about them, their hellmouth, and this school,” he said.

Josh nodded. “I’m on it,” he said.

Marcel knew his adopted father was good at manipulating others, but he’d never known Klaus to gain allies or friends that actually battled evil. They must be lying or exaggerating.

***** _The Mikaelsons******_

Rebekah waited anxiously for her new friends to return. When they came back to her house, she moved to greet them.

“How did it go?” she asked.

Faith shrugged. “About what we expected. He is clearly a nice little vamp,” she said.

“He’s no longer a vampire, remember,” Rebekah reminded them. “He’s also a superhybrid werewolf, deadly to us.”

“Yes, well, I don’t give a shit,” Faith said flatly. “It’s cool and all that he’s trying to police the town and keep his boys in check, but as he’s the one making vampires to begin with, I don’t have much sympathy for him.”

“We don’t want to risk a slaughter, though,” Xander warned. “We need to get him cornered in a more private location where he won’t be able to have so many of his friends around.”

“The restaurant would’ve been okay as there was only the guy Josh there,” Faith said. “But it’s daylight and public. Best to not destroy a place in such a blatant manner.”

Freya came into the room and greeted their guest. “So what’s the plan?” she asked.

“Well, with a witch to help, I think we can do this much easier,” Xander said. “If we can find him mostly alone, Freya can seal the room. Between my slayers and Rebekah, I know we can get his blood, so you can create the cure for your brothers.”

“With Elijah and Kol back in play, we should be able to get him to give up Klaus,” Rebekah said.

“Let’s hope so,” Freya said. 

“Does he keep a witch in his house?” Xander asked.

“Davina’s the most powerful one around—she is in love with Kol, though, so I don’t think she’ll be so eager to help Marcel,” Rebekah said.

“But Marcel loves Davina like a daughter, and he saved her life,” Freya pointed out.

“So we’ll do some recon and find out where the players are at normally at certain times,” Xander said. “We’ll be smart about it.”

“The girls can spend a few days enjoying the city,” Faith said.

“Okay,” Rebekah agreed.

“Why are you willing to help us?” Freya asked, still having trouble trusting these near strangers.

“Sometimes, reuniting a daughter with her father and uncles is just the right thing to do,” Xander said.

“Besides, the hypocrisy of your Marcel pisses me off,” Faith said. “He’s got this vampire kingdom thing going on, and he thinks he can judge Klaus and punish him. Who does he think he is?”

Their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of Hayley and Hope. They haven’t met Faith and Xander yet, so Rebekah introduced them.

“Are you going to get my daddy?” the adorable toddler asked.

Faith was surprised that the not quite three-year-old could speak so well and crouched down. “I most definitely will,” she promised. 

Hope grinned up at her. “Yeah!” she cheered.

“Do you think Marcel will give him up?” Hayley asked. 

“I don’t think he’s going to have a choice,” Faith said. “We just have to play it smart.”

“Sometimes, I think we should just leave New Orleans and let Marcel have it,” Hayley said, wearily. “Since we’ve came here, there’s been nothing but chaos and loss.”

Rebekah moved to put her arm around her. “Don’t get discouraged, Hayley. This is Hope’s home. Your pack is here,” she reminded her.

Hayley leaned against her sister-in-law—that’s how she thought of Rebekah even though she and Klaus were never married. She was her family as much as the pack was, and the Mikaelsons never did anything in half measure. Hopefully, these new allies could actually bring her family back together even if it wasn’t going to include Jackson anymore. Her pain at his loss was still fresh. With Elijah and Klaus also gone, she just felt pissed off all the time. She also felt lonely, and she really hoped the slayers can help.

***** _A Few Hours Later*****_

Josh went to Marcel’s place to give him an update. 

“What did you find out?” he asked.

“Quite a bit,” Josh said. “They weren’t lying or pulling your leg.”

“They really did close a hellmouth?” he asked.

“Yes, Sunnydale, California is now a giant crater,” Josh said, handing Marcel a picture of a satellite overview he printed off the net. “And here’s the school they were talking about. Professor X's School for Gifted Girls is what they call their school of vampire slayers.”

“Seriously?” Marcel asked in alarm. “They run a school for vampire slayers?”

“I talked to one of the guys who used to live in Los Angeles, and he said the underworld in Los Angeles knew about the Dark Slayer, who goes by Faith,” Josh said. “She’s even been in prison for murder.”

“And now is in charge of a bunch of superpowered teenagers?” Marcel asked in surprise.

Josh shrugged. “I guess she’s reformed because she reunited with the head slayer—some girl named Buffy,” he said.

“What about our pirate friend? What did you learn about him?” he asked.

“They call him the White Knight and the One Who Sees,” Josh said. “I don’t know if that last one is a cruel insult ‘cause he’s got one eye or if he’s got the second sight.”

“But he’s completely human? No special gifts?” Marcel inquired.

“They say his best friend is the Red Witch, who Xander kept from destroying the world once when she went mad with grief and dark magic,” Josh shared. “I guess, he’s good at corralling superpowered women and seeing through the bullshit.”

“That’s probably the witch that cured Rebekah then,” Marcel said. He knew that Klaus had found a witch to do what Vincent, Freya, and Davina couldn’t do for her. It had eased his guilt a lot when Rebekah was back in his world—even if she was royally pissed at him.

Josh nodded. “Xander went to high school in Sunnydale, and I guess got caught up in the supernatural due to his town being a hotbed for the demons and stuff,” Josh said.

“So the guy hitches his destiny to the Buffy girl when she comes to town and never looks back,” Marcel said thoughtfully. “Loses an eye and still sticks. That’s some loyalty.” Marcel valued loyalty above all other things and couldn’t help but admire the man. He didn’t want to have to kill him.

“Yea,” Josh said in agreement. “They’re not bad people—real actual heroes.”

“Yet they’re willing to come here and stir up stuff to help Klaus,” Marcel said. “Did they really bring their students or is that a line?”

“There have been a group of very attractive young girls seen moving around town,” Josh said. “One of the guys saw a few of them head into the Mikaelsons. A few went to a hotel.”

Marcel sighed. “This is getting complicated. I don’t want to get into a fight with a bunch of superpowered teenagers and their one-eyed White Knight,” he said.

“Well, what choice do we have?” Josh said. “Are you prepared to free the Mikaelsons? Klaus will never forgive you for besting him.”

Marcel knew Josh had a point, but he also feared Klaus. He didn’t know the man who saw an abused slave and didn’t just step in an save him. Instead, he adopted him, fed, loved him, and gave him everything. 

He went back to the room where he’d sealed Klaus into the wall. He pulled out the loose brick and peered into the wall, seeing Klaus, who had begun to desiccate.

Klaus opened his eyes. “Marcel,” he said weakly. 

Marcel was silent as he stared into the eyes of the man whose approval and respect he had sought for so long. Now he no longer cared if he ever had it. 

The Mikaelsons weren’t his family.

They never had been—not really.

Family were the people who stayed by your side and supported you. They didn’t try to kill you or see you as a threat.

He put back the brick without speaking to Klaus.

****** _Chapter End*****I_

_hope you enjoyed this. I would love a comment and/or kudos. Thanks!_


	9. Blood By Force

_*****The Next Day*****_

Xander woke up earlier than he wanted thanks to the large window in the room he was sleeping in. The room faced the rising sun, so it woke him up. After he jumped in the shower, he went downstairs looking for some coffee. His eyes widened as he saw the huge spread of food.

“Wow!” he remarked.

“I’m glad you approve,” Rebekah said, smiling at him.

“I so very much approve!” he said.

“Make sure you try the beignets,” she said.

“For sure,” he said, grabbing a plate and some bacon. Then he threw some eggs and grabbed two beignets on his plate. “Will you join me? Do you eat? Angel never did, but Spike did.”

“Actually, food and alcohol help us control our cravings,” she remarked, putting some eggs on a plate.

“Cool,” Xander said. He was pleased when she sat down next to him. “So what do you like to do when you’re not saving your brothers?”

Rebekah looked at him in surprise. “I don’t think anyone has ever asked me what I like to do,” she remarked. Then she winced. “That makes me sound really pathetic, huh?”

“A woman as beautiful as you could never be pathetic,” he assured her, giving her an approving look. “Tragic or overwrought but not pathetic.” 

Rebekah laughed, charmed by him. “I have been decidedly tragic a _nd_ overwrought at times,” she admitted. “But to answer your question—I like to do things most women like to do. Shop, listen to live music, go dancing.”

“What kind of music do you like?” he asked.

“Well, I slept through most of the evolution of rock and roll, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard. Jazz and blues were something I loved before Klaus daggered me in the twenties,” she said.

“What exactly does that mean?” he asked.

“We can’t be killed, but my siblings and I can be daggered. It’s like being frozen or put in storage, which is what Nik did to us whenever he grew concerned with our behavior—so he claimed anyway,” she said crossly.

Xander frowned. “Your brother put you in storage? Seriously?” he asked.

Rebekah shrugged. “He and Elijah did it to Finn for nine hundred years because he was so miserable as a vampire. Our brother Kol would start slaughtering too many people because his blood lust would get out of hand,” she said.

“I guess, that’s okay,” Xander said slowly. What the hell could he say to such disturbing family relations? It kind of pissed him off, but Spike was chipped. Containment was a viable alternative to killing a vampire, and he could understand why Klaus might do such a thing. However, the idea of Rebekah being boxed bothered him.

“But for me, he did it anytime he disapproved of my romantic choice,” she said sourly. 

“Now that’s taking the protective big brother to an extreme,” he said. “Did he do that a lot?”

She shrugged. “Not really. Once when I fell in love with a hunter who drove him mad for fifty years he did. Then in the twenties when I fell for a ripper and our father had found us,” she said, leaving out the time with Marcel. “He says it was for my own good, but I think he’s just a controlling ass, who wants me solely devoted to him.”

“Maybe it’s a little bit of both,” Xander suggested with a grin.

“Probably,” she agreed.

Faith came in yawning and reaching for the coffee. “Morning,” she said.

“Good morning,” Rebekah said. “Did you sleep well?”

Faith nodded. “Yep,” she said. She glanced at the food. “This is nice. Thanks.”

She sat down and began to eat in silence as other slayers trickled down, and Xander chatted with Rebekah. He enjoyed her confidence while sensing an underlining vulnerability that would be revealed with her shy smile.

When Freya joined them, Faith looked up. “Okay, so today’s the day. We’re going to corner Marcel and get his blood,” Faith announced. “We have to do it before night fall since he hangs out with all his vamp friends.”

“That sounds good,” Rebekah agreed.

“Freya, how much mojo do you have? Can you trap him in his house?” Faith asked her.

Freya nodded. “I can,” she said.

“Can you do something to immobilize any of his friends he might have with him?” Faith asked. “The Josh kid seemed cool. I’d hate to see him get killed.”

“No, we don’t want to kill Josh,” Rebekah agreed.

“I can snap their necks,” Freya said. “That will keep them down for ten to twenty minutes—depending on the age of the vampire.”

“We will just need five or ten,” Faith said. “Me and my girls will pin him down, and Rebekah, you can plunge a needle into him and extract his blood. Will a vial be enough?”

“I’d go for two,” Freya said. “We don’t know for sure that the blood is the cure—we just hope it is, and we will never get another opportunity.”

“Don’t you think Marcel is the biggest threat?” Xander said. “Shouldn’t Freya’s magic focus on keeping him in place while the girls take care of his men?”

“That might be better,” Rebekah said, looking at her sister.

Freya nodded. “I can keep him place for a short time, so he can’t speed away and harm anyone—if he wants,” she said.

“We can use chains,” Xander suggested.

“He’d break any chains,” Rebekah said.

“Would he if they were soaked in wolf’s bane?” Xander asked.

“And vervain,” Rebekah added. “We’d need to use both. I can do that.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I’m going to go scout out his place and see how many are there,” Faith said. “Rebekah, bring the girls in an hour. I’ll text you if he’s not there or leaving.”

“I should go with you,” Freya said. “In case he starts to leave or something.”

Faith nodded. “That’ll work. I’ll be ready to go in ten,” she said as she stood up.

Rebekah’s stomach was in knots. What if this failed? 

Xander sensed her anxiety and reached out to grab her hand and give hit a squeeze. “This will work,” he said.

“How do know?” Rebekah asked.

“Because we don’t really know how to fail,” Xander said with a smirk.

Rebekah grinned, appreciating his confidence, and stood. “I better go next door and speak to Hayley. She will be pissed if we try to go without her,” she said.

“She’s a hybrid like Klaus, so she will be good in a fight,” Xander said.

“Yes, she’s very formidable,” Rebekah agreed.

“This will work, and once we get your brothers back, we’ll work a deal to get Klaus free,” Xander said.

Rebekah hoped he was right.

***** _An Hour Later*****_

Rebekah was standing in between Hayley and Xander as they stood behind Marcel’s place. Faith, Freya, and the slayers were going to hit the front entrance while they took out the back. Xander looked at his watch. “Two minutes,” he said.

“I hope this works,” Rebekah said anxiously.

“It will,” Hayley said. She didn’t know these new people, but they seemed strong and were willing to help. 

“Any plans for what you’re going to do when you get your brothers back?” Xander asked.

Rebekah frowned. “No, not really,” she said.

“Klaus will spend time fighting with Marcel in this endless power struggle,” Hayley said.

“Why don’t you guys come to Cleveland?” he suggested. “We have a school for special girls like Hope. You and your brothers can kill monsters instead of fighting with Marcel.”

“Jackson won’t leave New Orleans,” Hayley said. “His family is here.” Then she remembered, her husband was dead and felt the pain of his loss all over again.

“Well, it’ll be a few years before Hope is in school,” Xander said. “You can work on him.” 

Hayley considered his suggestion and nodded. A new town might be the best thing for her and Hope. Her pack would just have to move with them.

“It’s time,” Xander said. He allowed the two women to go ahead of him, knocking in the back door.

Faith was holding some chains that were soaked in both wolf’s bane and vervain. Freya had sealed the house before they entered, so the slayers spread out and attacked the three other vampires in the room while Marcel considered what he wanted to do.

“Time’s up, pretty vamp,” Faith said. “We’re going to get your blood one way or another.”

She nodded at Rebekah, who moved quickly to hold Marcel, pinning his arms behind his back. He knew it was her and didn’t want to hurt her. His hesitation costed him, however, as Freya had prepared a binding spell for him, causing him to be momentarily stuck. This allowed Faith to move forward and wrap the chain around him.

“Releasing your brothers is a bad idea, Rebekah. You know it,” Marcel said.

Hayley plunged the first needle into his neck. “Hope needs his dad even if he is a pain in our ass,” she said.

Freya got the other vial and stabbed gently into his arm. “Sorry, Marcel, but we need our brothers,” she said.

“In case you pull this again,” Rebekah said, pulling out yet another needle. “I want to have your blood on hand.”

“You don’t even know if that’ll work,” Marcel said as he struggled against the chain.

“It will work,” Freya said. 

“Sorry, Marcel,” Rebekah said. Then she snapped his neck. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

They quickly exited the building, moving to a property that Marcel did not know they owned. It was where she and Freya were keeping their brothers.

Xander and his girls had plans to see a show, so they wouldn’t be easily found if Marcel and his guys went on a rampage of revenge. They were going to meet up with the Mikaelsons and Faith in a few hours.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Rebekah said when she made it to the house holding her vial of blood.

Hayley held up hers. “It did,” she said, smiling. “No hearts ripped out, and Marcel will hardly miss this bit of blood.”

“Let’s see if this is going to work,” Freya said. She took her vial of blood and moved to Elijah’s coffin. Faith pulled up the lid for her. 

“He looks dead,” Faith observed.

“He’s not,” Freya said. “I did a spell that froze the poison’s progression.”

She murmured a spell to awaken Elijah. “Elijah, wake up and drink. This should cure you,” she said.

Elijah’s eyes opened, and he swallowed the blood.

***** _Marcel’s*****_

Marcel was sipping blood as his men ranted and paced, wanting revenge on the Mikaelson’s and the new women in town. He considered what his next move would be. These girls were sixteen to eighteen or so, and he knew they were good kids. Josh’s research had uncovered that they spent their time fighting real monsters and demons.

Why would they align themselves with Klaus? 

Of course, he knew how charming and persuasive his sire could be—he’d fallen for his honeyed words more than once. Rebekah had been led by it for a hundred centuries. The one-eyed guy—Xander—Marcel had felt an instant connection with. It was like the guy was laughing at a joke only he knew. It reminded him a bit of Kol except without the mania.

Why would they pull out all the stops for the Mikaelsons?

Josh came in. “Boss, are you okay?” he asked in concern.

Marcel nodded. “I am fine,” he said.

“So they managed to get your blood?” Josh asked.

Marcel nodded again. “Yes,” he said. “Freya trapped me inside and in one place long enough for them to chain me and drain me a bit. Then Rebekah snapped my neck. Those slayer girls took out my guys without actually killing anyone.”

“That’s good,” Josh said.

“Yes, but it puts me in a difficult position,” he said with a sigh.

“I’m going to go see if they’re at their house,” Joe said. He was pissed that his neck and been broken by a very small girl.

“Fine but do not engage. Intel only,” Marcel said, knowing the man needed to do something. He looked around at the other guys. “That goes for all of you. Do not engage if you see any of them. I’m not ready to slaughter a bunch of teenagers because they helped take a bit of my blood.”

The men grumbled but nodded and left him with Josh.

“But they’re going to cure Kol and Elijah,” Josh said.

“I know,” Marcel said. “It doesn’t change anything, though. I can’t hurt kids even if they’re superpowered—they’re just like Davina.”

Josh nodded. “I get it. They’re pretty cool when not trying to help the Mikaelsons. I’ve only heard good things about them,” he said.

Vincent, the head of the town witches, came in before they could say more. “You okay?” he asked.

Marcel nodded. “I’m fine. They managed to get some of my blood without any bloodshed,” he said.

“So they aim to bring Elijah and Kol back,” he said. “Davina will be happy.”

“Kol can’t control his blood lust, and she will end up heartbroken,” Marcel said. “I know Kol in a way that she does not, but she won’t hear me.”

“She loves him,” Josh said.

“There was a reason that Klaus daggered the guy,” Marcel said. “He loved his baby brother, but Kol brought too much negative attention with his unchecked slaughtering of humans.”

“She met him as a human witch, however, and won’t see him any other way,” Josh said.

“I know,” Marcel said. “This whole thing is entirely too complicated.”

“It’s worse than you know,” Vincent said. “I just got a clear warning from the ancestors about the new players in town, and you’re not going to like it.”

Marcel sighed. Great more bad news.

***** _To Be Continued*****_


	10. Restoration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this final chapter.

_******Where We Left Off*****_

“So what did the Ancestors tell you?” Marcel asked Vincent.

“To stay out of it because this group is connected to a very powerful witch, who we do not want coming to town,” Vincent explained.

“I’m just to step back and let them take Klaus?” Marcel asked incredulously. “I finally have him contained. No more slaughter or mayhem. I can’t just let him go.”

“How about you work a deal of some kind?” Josh suggested.

Marcel considered it. “Maybe I could talk to Xander—he seemed reasonable,” he said. “He has access to people who are extremely powerful. It might be possible to leverage them against Klaus, so we can at least keep him out of New Orleans.”

“That’s a good idea,” Josh said, happy at the thought.

“Of course, Klaus is a target now that the sire lines are broken from him,” Marcel said. “His presence endangers Hope.”

“Well, Hope can stay here. Hayley and she belong in New Orleans,” Vincent said. “This is their home, and Hope is ours.”

“I can’t see Klaus leaving his daughter,” Marcel said.

“It’s not like he’s abandoning her,” Josh said. “He’d still see her—just not in this town. Hayley will have to take her out of town to see her.”

“Why don’t you try to track down Xander? See if he’ll meet with me,” Marcel said.

“Okay,” Josh said.

After Josh left, Marcel looked at Vincent. “I hope this plan works,” he said.

“So do I,” Vincent said. He didn’t want any all-powerful witches in town—they had enough problems.

***** _Mikaelsons*****_

Xander eyed the debonair vampire with interest. He was as different from Spike and Angel as anyone could possibly be. In fact, Xander didn’t think he knew anyone remotely like the man.

“I do appreciate your willingness to help my family,” Elijah Mikaelson said. 

Kol was sitting up, his head in his hand. “I feel awful,” he said. “I need a few people to drain,” he mumbled.

“Maybe I should mention that I’m a teacher at a school for vampire slayers,” Xander said with an easy smile. “Slaughter of humans is a real no-no.”

“It was a figure of speech,” Elijah said easily. He glanced at his youngest brother. “Kol knows that we do not tolerate slaughtering of humans.”

“Yes, that’s why dear Nik kept daggering him,” Rebekah said with a bright smile.

“We didn’t have blood bags in the 1800s,” Kol said as he accepted the bag from Freya.

Faith was bouncing on her feet. “I could really use a good fight, so if you want to try and kill someone, I’d love to stop you,” she said to Kol.

“Save the fighting for later, Faith,” Xander said. “We need to do get Klaus released, so we can get the girls back to school.”

Kol eyed the one-eyed guy with interest. “You really do have a gang of super-powered teenagers here? And you actually like my brother?” he asked. 

“Yes to both,” Faith said.

Kol looked at Freya. “Exactly how long where we gone?” he asked.

“Less than two months,” she said.

Kol shook his head in disbelief. “Some blokes have all the luck,” he muttered.

The doorbell rang, and Faith moved to open it. “Josh, I’m surprised to see you here,” she said stepping back to let him in.

“Well, it wasn’t easy, but I figured if no one was at their main estate, there had to be other properties around town,” Josh said. “I have a friend at city hall.” He saw that both Mikaelsons were cured. 

“Yes, Marcel’s blood did the trick,” Rebekah said.

“What brings you here?” Xander asked.

“Marcel was hoping you and he could have a talk,” Josh said to him.

“Is he willing to discuss releasing Klaus?” Xander inquired.

“He is,” Josh said.

“That’s good,” Xander said. “I like your boss, and I don’t really want to fight him.”

Kol stood up. “Well, I don’t like Marcel—he forgets his place and what my family has done for him,” he said coldly. “Klaus saved his life and gave him everything. He picked him over his own flesh and blood, and how does he repay that? His disloyalty will not be forgotten.” He sped to Josh, determined to kill him, but Faith stepped in front of Josh and swung her fist, hitting Kol hard in the jaw.

Elijah gave a small smile. “Kol, you can’t kill Josh. Remember, he is Davina’s best friend, and she would be very angry with you,” he said.

“Josh doesn’t kill humans, so he gets my protection,” Faith said to Kol. “As you seem to have a blood lust problem, I suggest you step easy.”

“Marcel hasn’t forgotten what Klaus has done,” Rebekah said. “Why do you think he’s still alive? Marcel has also refused to give him over to the hordes of vampires who’ve came to town seeking his blood now that he’s no longer attached to his line.”

“You guys are just one big dysfunctional family,” Faith announced. “And you’re going to find a way to get along.”

“Tell Marcel, I’ll meet him in an hour at his bar,” Xander said.

Josh nodded and left.

“I wish to speak with Marcellus,” Elijah said. “I will go with you.”

Xander considered it. “How about you give me five minutes with him alone and then join us?” he asked.

Elijah agreed, but Faith insisted on going.

When Marcel saw Xander enter with Faith, he sighed. He was hoping to get to talk to Xander alone as the slayer was a loose cannon.

“Hello,” Marcel said. “I was hoping you would come alone.”

“Well, you know how it is,” Xander said easily. “Elijah will probably be along soon.”

“And I’m here to remind you of the ass whoopin’ I’m going to unleash if you don’t give me Klaus,” Faith said.

Xander could sense that Faith wasn’t the right move, and he pulled her aside. “Faith, how about you go outside and give me a few minutes with Marcel?” he suggested.

“Seriously?” she asked, annoyed.

“Let me work my magic,” Xander said.

“Fine, but if it doesn’t work, things will get ugly,” she said. Then she went out the door.

“Thanks. I love strong women, but your slayer seems to be too much like Rebekah with the hair trigger,” Marcel said as Xander sat next to him at the bar.

“You’re not wrong,” Xander said with a grin.

“Do you want a drink?” Marcel asked.

“I’m good,” Xander said. “So what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that I don’t want a fight with you or your superpowered teenagers,” Marcel said. 

“That’s good. We don’t want that either,” Xander said. “You and the Mikaelsons are family. Klaus is like the only father you’ve ever known, right?”

“Well, I was born a slave, so that’s not saying much,” Marcel said sourly. “But here’s the thing. The Mikaelsons fled this city and left me behind. I built it up, and things were good. Since they’ve been here, there’s been nothing but slaughter.”

“Didn’t you basically forbid the witches from practicing magic, killing a few, and slaughtering the wolves? Forcing them to live in the swamp?” Xander countered. “You’re no saint.”

Marcel gritted his teeth, annoyed the human knew so much. “Regardless, I cannot co-exist with them. Too much has happened. I’m finally stronger than all of them, and Klaus will hate that. He will war with me whether I want him to or not,” Marcel said. “His enemies will surround this city to get to him as he’s no longer tied to his line. Hope will always be in danger.”

“You want him and his siblings to leave,” Xander said.

Marcel nodded. “Yes. Kol in particular will never rest until he kills all my guys,” Marcel said. “I lived with this family for nearly two hundred years—I know them better than anyone else alive.”

“And yet you think still you can take our home from us,” Elijah said as he made his presence known. “Your betrayal knowns no bounds.”

“It’s funny that you would speak to _me_ about betrayal, Elijah, as you are the one who tried to kill me and started this,” Marcel said coldly. “You didn’t trust me, and it was _you_ that betrayed _me_!”

“Always and forever was not a vow you ever swore, Marcellus,” Elijah said. “I am sorry if I judged you wrongly, but I could not risk my family’s life.”

“Your family used to be mine, remember?” Marcel said pointedly. “I was never given a chance to give you my vow. You never asked me to either. Instead, I was left for dead while you and your siblings fled this city, running from your dad. Then you and Klaus came back and tried to take what I built.”

“Okay, so it’s clear that both sides have wronged and been wrong,” Xander said easily. “Why don’t we agree to move on? You release Klaus, and his siblings will vow not to retaliate. Since it’s clear they can honor a vow, you can trust theirs, right?”

“They cannot speak for Klaus,” Marcel said. “He rarely listens to anyone.”

“He’ll listen to me,” Faith said. “I will get him to leave town for a while anyway.”

“Get him to agree to five years,” Marcel said. “That’s no time at all for a vampire.”

Faith glanced at Elijah. “You think he’ll be okay with that?” she asked.

“Probably not, but we can convince him,” Xander said.

“Well, then, you guys can follow me, and we’ll talk to the man himself,” Marcel said.

They followed him to his home, and Faith was beyond pissed when Marcel pulled a brick from a wall and showed where he was keeping Klaus.

“You bricked the only father you’ve ever known?” Faith said, her fist clenched. “And you call _him_ a monster?”

“Klaus, wake up,” Marcel said.

Klaus opened his eyes and saw his brother. “Elijah? You are well?” he asked, looking at his brother carefully. Then he saw two people he didn’t expect.

“I am fine, brother,” Elijah said. “Your two friends here saved me and Kol.”

Klaus gave Faith a warm smile. “Hello, love. Sorry that you have to see me looking so pathetic.”

“You could never be pathetic,” Faith said with a wink. “You’re a hot mess, though.”

“That I am,” he acknowledged. 

“Niklaus, Marcellus has agreed to release you if you will vow to leave New Orleans for at least five years,” Elijah said.

“I was hoping you’d come play with me on our hellmouth in Ohio,” Faith said with a wink.

Klaus looked up at Elijah. “What does Hayley think about this move?” he asked.

“I have not spoken to her yet,” Elijah admitted. “But if you are willing to relocate, Kol and I will go with you.”

“If you can drag him from the witch,” Klaus said pointedly.

“We can always use a witch on the hellmouth,” Xander said. “Willow doesn’t stay in Ohio much, and she’s our big gun.”

“Where’s our sisters?” Klaus said. “What do they want to do?”

“You know they will go wherever we go,” Elijah said confidently.

Klaus didn’t want to leave his home, but things had become unbearable for him and his family. Bitterness was a hard thing to bear, and he glared at Marcel. “So you cured my brothers in order to bribe me to leave?” he asked.

“Actually, we took his blood by force,” Faith said. 

“We brought a bunch of our girls with us,” Xander said, knowing Klaus would know what that meant.

Klaus grinned. “You brought slayers to town?” he asked. 

“Only the ones who wanted to come and where at least sixteen,” Xander said.

“Look, I don’t want any girls hurt, Klaus, and I’m done having you try to hurt me and destroy my friends,” Marcel said. “I want peace, and you want to continuously war against someone.”

A lack of blood—it’d been weeks since he’d fed—had drained the normal fight out of Klaus.

“Is this what you want?” he asked Elijah.

“I think it is best,” Elijah said. He looked at Xander. “This man has a school for special girls—girls who are gifted like Hope.”

“She is still a baby,” Klaus said. However, he considered what Elijah was saying. The school he was referring to Klaus had seen firsthand, so he knew how special the place was. Having allies like them would be an incredible boon.

“She won’t always be,” Elijah said. “Hayley may not be ready to leave New Orleans right now, but she will when Hope becomes a bit older.”

Klaus liked the idea of his baby girl growing up surrounded by witches like Xander’s best friend and all those extraordinary young women.

“Even if she doesn’t,” Xander said, “you can have Hope visit. There’s always something to fight living on a hellmouth.”

“You could have a life of real purpose,” Faith said. “And me.”

Klaus smiled. Having Cami return a vampire had pushed the memory of Faith from the forefront of his mind, but he hadn’t forgotten their fleeting time together. She had been a time of sweet succor when he needed it. Most importantly, she had managed to get the cure for Rebekah from her witch friend.

“That is a very tempting offer,” he said to her. Then he looked at Marcel. “Release me, and I will leave within twenty-four hours. I’d like to spend some time with Hope before I go.”

“You do realize that your enemies will be gunning for you,” Marcel informed him. “They’ve been beating down my door wanting a piece of you now that you’re no longer tied to your line.”

“I think we can see if Willow can tie you back to your line,” Faith said with a smirk.

“Of course, if you’re at a school of vampire slayers, I think you’ll be in good company,” Xander pointed. “A vampire would have to be a fool to challenge us.”

Marcel moved and ripped out the bricks holding Klaus. Elijah stepped forward to catch his brother as he fell, and then he pushed his hand into Klaus’ chest.

“What the hell are you doing?” Faith asked, alarmed at the gruesome sight.

When Elijah pulled his hand out, he was holding a slightly curved knife made out a bone of some kind. “Ending his suffering,” he said simply. “This is how Marcel was able to contain him. It causes an incredible amount of pain—immobilizing even someone of his great strength.”

Faith stared at it a moment and then back at Klaus. Immediately, she could see more color and vitality on his face. Anger filled her, and she gave no warning as she turned to knock Marcel hard in the face. As she didn’t hold back, it caused him to fall back a few feet.

“You’re one sick bastard!” she said angrily. Then she turned and quit the room, her desire to rip the guy’s head off incredibly strong.

Klaus fought back a grin, pleased at her response.

“Can you walk?” Elijah asked.

Klaus struggled to his feet. “I think so,” he said. Then he straightened and looked at his adopted son with regret mixed with anger. “Well, Marcel. I wish things had been different, but I will leave you and yours be.”

“You vow it?” Marcel wondered.

“I do,” Klaus said.

Marcel nodded. “Then I wish you and your family well,” he said. He held out his hand to Klaus.

Klaus considered it a moment and then sighed. “Thanks,” he said, shaking his hand. He held his eyes a moment, not sure what he wanted to say. He moved a step closer and put his other hand on Marcel’s shoulder. “No father could be prouder of the man you have become. You are stronger than I and more controlled—you are a better leader.”

Marcel hated to admit how much Klaus’ words meant to him, but Xander wasn’t wrong. Klaus was the only father he knew—the man he measured himself against in every way. “Well, you might’ve taught me a thing or two,” he admitted, giving him a slow smile.

“See, I knew we could all get along,” Xander said, slapping his hands together. “How about we end the night celebrating? Then we’ll all head out tomorrow.”

“Lead the way,” Klaus said as turned from Marcel. When he stumbled from weakness, Elijah moved to steady him. Klaus kept his arm around his brother, who led him out of Marcel’s place.

This chapter of the Mikaelsons was finally over.

***** _Epilogue*****_

Faith kissed Klaus. “Well, lover, are you ready for some fun?” she asked.

Klaus grinned at her in amusement. For Faith, fun could mean one of two things—a marathon of sex or a gruesome battle. She loved both equally. Since he and his family had moved to Ohio’s hellmouth, their lives were radically different. Six months ago, they’d had their last party in their old home. He’d kissed his daughter and spoken to Hayley, who agreed to relocate by the time Hope reached school age. Her summers would be spent with him and his family until then. 

When Kol had bitten into the first demon he’d encountered a few weeks after their arrival, he’d discovered that demon blood gave him a high human blood didn’t. Then he’d become very active in helping the slayers fight. Currently, Buffy Summers, their leader had moved Kol and Davina to India with a group of slayers. The demon population there was getting out of hand, and Kol was relishing keeping it in hand.

Freya had stuck around Ohio for a few months, learning how the slayers worked and what magic could do to aid them. Then she’d met Willow, and the two had bonded. Willow had succeeded in recruiting her to join their main headquarters in England. She, too, was loving having a purpose outside of her family.

Elijah spent his time working with the watchers, sharing his incredible knowledge of history and languages whenever they’d needed help researching. Klaus could tell that his big brother relished in shaping young minds. He’d once started the Strix with noble ambition to impact the future for the better. When it had all fell to ash, it had been a bitter blow. Now, though, he had so many young minds that were empowered with a sacred duty. Elijah was happier than Klaus had seen him in a long time. He divided his time either in Ohio with Klaus or in England with Freya.

Klaus and Faith had been getting along famously—he’d not grown bored with her at all. “I’m coming,” he said to her. He reached for his sword. He loved the archaic weaponry the slayers used as it reminded him strongly of his youth. His sword now was rarely far from his reach, and he loved the feel of a blade in his hand. A love of fine blades was something he and Faith shared. The young girls were repulsed at the ripping out of hearts—his initial method of ending a demon life, so Xander had forbid the practice. 

Not that he let Xander tell him what to do, but the man was so easy to like. Klaus found it nearly impossible to not agree when he asked him to stop doing the practice. It had been a very long time since Klaus had made a real human friend. One that he need not fear would die for their friendship. Camille had been the last human he’d befriended, but Klaus didn’t have to worry about Xander as he was probably the most protected human on the planet. The slayers loved him fiercely and weren’t afraid to show it.

When Rebekah and Xander became involved a few months earlier, Klaus had to break up many a fight as the girl’s were constantly baiting Rebekah and causing her to lose her cool. A few just flat out hit first—violence was a slayer’s first go-to Klaus had quickly discovered.

Soon, however, it became clear that Xander had no reason to worry about Rebekah harming him or breaking his heart. She was completely besotted with the man.

Klaus, of course, approved finally of her choice. The fact that Xander was human and would eventually die was not a topic they discussed. Klaus, though, would force him to become a vampire before he’d allow the man to leave his sister from old age.

He was too smart, though, to voice that particular plan of his.

“Are you ready?” Xander asked as he joined him, Faith, and Rebekah. “These demons are nasty.”

“I still cannot believe opening a hellmouth is something these idiots try to do annually,” Rebekah muttered. She detested hunting demons, finding them disgusting. However, she joined them mainly to watch Xander’s back. When she first saw Kol feed on one, she’d thrown up in disgust.

“Well, what can I say? Some just can’t embrace our gaming culture as a favorite pastime,” Xander said with a grin. “Opening hellmouths is how they get their jollies.” He leaned over to kiss her. “Come be my shield, my blonde goddess.”

Rebekah gave him a soft smile. “Only for you,” she said.

Faith rolled her eyes, impatient as always. “Let’s get this show on the road,” she ordered, leading the girls who were going with them.

Klaus moved next to his dark slayer, content for once to let others lead.

However, he would kill any who dared harm his Faith.

After all, he was still a sucker for a pretty face.

***** _The End*****_

_I know some of you would’ve loved more, but I wanted to end it wrapped up. I enjoyed writing a glimpse of what they’re all doing in the future. Yes, that means this is the true end. I hope you’re not disappointed. Here’s a final chance to review. Take a minute and let me know. I'm sad that no one had given me a single review even though some are reading this. It's a fun story, so if you enjoyed it, let me know! I really appreciate it._


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